Halkeginia Ghoul
by Infinite Fate
Summary: Can a meeting between a half-elf and her familiar, a broken 'human', change Halkeginia for good? To Tiffania, that white-haired girl is her saviour and a friend to trust. But what is her to Louise, who had been broken beyond repair? AU in which Louise is Kaneki. Reversed summon
1. Prologue

**A/N: **So I've read Tokyo Ghoul these days and god, that manga is so good! I think putting Louise in Kaneki's place then bring her back to Halkeginia would be an interesting idea. It'd be fun to see how people around her coping with a more mature and broken Louise (of course with her Ghoul power and insanity, too). However, I'll alter some details in both mangas. For example, Saito will stay in Earth in this fic (he could be eaten by some Ghouls back in Tokyo, LOL), etc.

R&amp;R, mina-san!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own FoZ or Tokyo Ghoul, they belong to their respective creators.

* * *

**Halkeginia Ghoul**

**By: **Infinite Fate

**Prologue**

* * *

_Ever since her first day of learning magic, the life of Louise Francoise de la Valliere had been a chain of misery and shame. Despite being the daughter of Karin the Heavy Wind, all Louise could do was explosion, explosion and explosion. Her spells always ended up destroying things although she'd tried to be more careful with her power. _

_She felt ashamed, ashamed of the taint she'd brought to the name Valliere, ashamed of being such a failure, and most of all, ashamed of being a disappointment in her mother's eyes._

_Failure after failure…_

_But it didn't mean she would give up._

_She started to research to find out more about her disabilities. Her knowledge in magic had been improved so much that it could rival many famous researchers in Tristain. Yet again, she couldn't point out what was wrong with her magical abilities. Everything was perfect, her wand movements, her chanting, her willpower output… everything. _

_It exploded… It always exploded! _

_Louise was tired of the continuous failure and she was sure her mother thought the same. _

_Karin the Heavy Wind was a woman of steel and rules. Being a perfectionist, she would never allow such a disgrace to exist. And if Louise failed again, the girl would be dismissed from her study and married her 'so-called' fiancé, Wardes._

_Days passed and the time to summon her familiar had come._

_Louise was afraid. Still, she put on her brave mask and ignored the sneers and mocking of people. Looking at Professor Colbert for permission, she received a nod from him as an agreement._

_The girl took a long breath before stepping forward. With head held high, she focused her determined eyes on the space in front of her. Her wand-wielding hand began to move._

_**I'll prove to everyone… **_

"_My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere…"_

_**That…**_

"_Pentagon of the five elemental powers. Heed my summoning and bring forth…"_

_**I'm not a Zero!**_

"_My familiar!" Seconds after her last words was an explosion and… nothing…_

"_That was priceless! Did you see that!? Nothing! Zero summoned nothing!"_

"_I've already told you. As if that girl could do anything decent."_

"_As expected of Louise the Zero!"_

_In the midst of those hurtful words, Louise stood, stunned by the event. Seconds later, she snapped back to the reality when Professor Colbert coughed slightly, reminding her of the situation…_

"_Can… Can I try again, professor?" Her voice wavered as she kept herself from breaking down right there._

_Professor Jean Colbert looked at the girl in silence. Louise Francoise de la Valliere was a special case in this academy. Unlike her fellow schoolmates, the girl possessed little talent in magic in spite of having such an intelligent mind. Colbert had seen her struggle with it, standing up after her defeat. She has never backed down. He had a student with this bravery and determination, what could he ask for more? So he felt this little girl deserve a second chance…_

"_Alright, miss Valliere."_

"_Thank you." The noble turned back, holding her wand once again. _

_Again, the whole ritual was flawless. However, the result was the same, an explosion and she summoned nothing. _

_Louise bit her lips hard. Her eyes remained their focus on the ground, staring blankly. Her small hands trembled at the sides as the laughter and insults become louder and louder. For the first time, Louise felt defeated._

"_I'm sorry but the ritual has to end here." Colbert gave her a pat on shoulder when he noticed tears were trailing down her cheeks._

_What happened next shocked not only Professor Colbert and the students but also Louise herself. They just didn't expect that. Even Louise didn't expect she would lose herself completely._

_The petite girl dodged the man's hand and lunged forward, running sloppily to the ritual place. Yes, Louise was desperate… desperate enough to throw away her pride and rules to do such a dishonored, brash action._

"_I, Louise Francoise de la Valliere,…"_

"_Miss Valliere!" Professor Colbert shouted, running after her._

"_What's Zero doing!?" _

"_Is she trying again!?"_

"_Someone has to stop her. Her infamous explosion will kill us all." _

_Kirche von Zerbst bit her lips when she heard the last joke. Were these people too stupid to see what was happening!? By the look on Valliere's face, the girl had lost it and Brimir knew what a desperate person would do when they'd been cornered. Kirche remained concerned despite her usual teasing to the smaller girl. Louise might be her rival but it didn't mean she wanted to see such a sorrowful expression on her._

_Next to the redhead, Tabitha eyed said pinkette warily, frowning in the process as she could feel something wrong with Louise's antics_

_Only when everything had happened did Kirche realize... that she was right. Louise was going do something drastic… something would cost her more than she'd thought._

"_In the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers,…" The tears were still falling "Is following my fate…"_

_Later, this would become Louise Valliere's greatest regret for it led her to the path of eternal torment and made her question her morality…forever._

_Fate twisted and all left was a void of darkness._

_Louise Francoise de la Valliere was no more._

.

.

.

_A chain of misery, indeed._

Louise let out a bitter laugh when she remembered those memories. Her tears mixed with the rain, trailing down her mask. One teary pink eye looked down at the investigator, Amon, as she opened her mouth. Teeth gritted together, she tried to maintain her control and spoke with a broken voice.

"Please… just go away." She had never thought that one day she would beg someone to flee for their life… and under such a circumstance.

The investigator stared at her in shock. He hadn't expected this ghoul to say something like that.

"You…" To him, she didn't look like them but rather, a little girl who refused to become one.

"Please… don't make me kill you…" Sobs escaped her throat.

_Please… Don't make me become a monster._

However, it was too late for her to turn back… once walking on this path.

And Louise broke down.


	2. Chapter 1: A Ghoul For A Familiar

**A/N: **Hey everyone, I'm back with chapter 1 of Halkeginia Ghoul. So, I was trying to mix some of Kaneki and Louise together when I realized they were so different. There's a reason why I think Louise can be a much more depressed version of Kaneki. Louise, despite her judgement about commoners, is nice, patient and very dependable. But at the same time, she's stubborn and full of pride while Kaneki Ken of Tokyo Ghoul is a gentle and shy person. And if Kaneki could be **that** depressed after being turned into a ghoul, then I'm pretty sure a prideful person like Louise would get **worse **than him, a mental breakdown perhaps.

Unlike Kaneki, who becomes brutal but still maintains his gentleness with his friends, I decided to turn Louise into something different. A twisted, distant, easily to snap and mentally unstable Louise is more fun to write, LOL~ Don't worry, she won't lose herself completely, especially after being summoned by Tiffania *wink*.

Okay, enough rambling. Remember to R&amp;R, mina-san!

Oh, and there is a profile of Louise at the end of this chapter. I know it's very confusing but I promise to clear your questions in later chapters!

**PS: **"Louise": Talking

_Louise: _Thought

_"Louise": _Talking in the past.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own FoZ or Tokyo Ghoul, they belong to their respective creators

* * *

"_Where is Valliere!?"_

"_She has disappeared! Oh dear Brimir!"_

"_Professor Colbert!"_

And that was days ago, Kirche von Zerbst was pissed now. Professor Colbert and headmaster Old Osmond was absolutely making no move at all, stating that Louise was out of reach. Seriously, what was wrong with them!? Louise was a freaking Valliere for Brimir's sake! The longer they remained doing nothing, the more danger the girl could be in, why couldn't they understand!?

_And what the hell was 'out of reach' anyway!? As if she could have been somewhere else other than Halkeginia._

"Headmaster, this is insane! How are you going to tell Duchess Valliere!?" His secretary, Miss Longueville, said.

"I believe that the truth is the best." The old man stated. It wasn't like he needed to write a letter to report the accident, there were several nobles had heard about this from their children. If there was anything faster than words themselves, it would be 'rumors'. Certainly, Duchess Karin de la Valliere would have heard it by now.

"But how could this happen, sir?"

The old man sighed and looked out of his window "I don't know…"

* * *

**Halkeginia Ghoul**

**Chapter 1 **

**A Ghoul For A Familiar**

* * *

**Tokyo, 24th ****Ward.**

"Ha…ha…" In a corner of a quiet street, a person panted heavily as she leaned against the wall to regain her strength. "Damn it." Cursed the girl when she felt wetness on the bandage around her eyes. These wounds still bleed to no end even though the Anteiku raid had passed for a few days.

_So much for the whole 'abnormal regeneration' thing, huh._

Suddenly, memories of a few days ago flashed in her head and her teeth gritted together.

_What a fool I was… I should have known after all these time. Fuck it all._

She had the right to curse them all, the incident that brought this fate on her shoulders, the people who made her life a hell and abandoned her like a piece of trash after using, or the CCG investigators and that Aogiri Tree group. Yes, she could have cursed them. Yet… she couldn't get their images out of her head. Because in a way... they were all innocent.

_Are they? _Then, she thought of her co-workers and friends. The teeth, instead, bit the inside of her cheeks.

_I've failed them…_ Yes, she failed to protect her only 'real' home, Anteiku. Her home was destroyed and all she could do was watching from a far, watching as her friends and the innocents died one after one. She had caught a glimpse of Touka-san and Yomo-san the day human turned their home into nothing but a mess of bricks and dust. She knew they were sad… about the collapse, about death of their friends… She'd seen Yomo-san's grim expression and Touka-san's angry tears. And even if she was no better than a broken doll, she still wanted to comfort them. However, she couldn't meet them now for she was being chased by that damned Kishou Arima… and also, she didn't have the courage to face them… not anymore. She'd failed them, after all.

_Some friend I am… They can't depend on me… for I'm just a failure… a zero…_

The white-haired girl laughed humorlessly. She laughed so hard that her wounds started to hurt again.

Her torso had healed well. However, both her eyes took a great time to return to their former state. That strange investigator sure had a freaking nice quinque. It was still a wonder how she managed to escape from him, seeing the way he'd given her a sour defeat only with his weapon.

That man…he was a human… but he held such strength…

_It's a good thing I still keep a trump-card up in my sleeve._

She might have become a ghoul, yet it didn't mean she'd forgotten who she really was, even if that so-called person'd been gone ever since her arrival in this place.

Magic was the word.

Earth people believed in technology and science, but she'd grown up in a magical world and snatching Arima's quinque from his hands had proved to be a stupid thing to do. So it wasn't a surprise when she acted on her wizard instincts, holding wand out and yelled 'fireball' in a not-so elegant way. Of course, there was an explosion after that.

The eye-widening look of Arima was hilarious, his glasses got broken after being blown away by the force. In that very moment, she saw a chance and then ran away with a wicked grin on her lips.

The pain, however, was a different thing. It was nothing compared to what she'd to endure in the encounter with Yamori but the blood and being blind caused several problems in a ward full of unsatisfied ghouls. Fortunately, she was quite a quick learner although fighting without vision was a new kind of difficulty.

She ran a hand through her white hair, grimacing when she felt how the blood had stained the strands. At the same time, she heard something, or more correctly, sounds of footsteps.

The white-haired ghoul turned around, her instinct told her that there was some of 'her kind' standing in front of her.

"Finally…"

Head tilted to the side, the girl asked in a bored tone, her face as blank as ever "What do you want?"

"You know what we want, girly."

"Mah. I've never known there is still someone foolish enough to search for another one to beat them in to a pulp." Haizz… Insults were never her strongpoint.

"Did you hear that!?" One guy laughed out loud "Let me tell you this, crippled. You're in our domain and by our laws, it means… death!"

"… Oh really…" Her lips curved into a malicious grin "I wonder…" She threw the bag on her shoulder away and much to their surprise cracked her index finger. Even when her kakugan was not shown, her brutal aura was all it took for the ghouls to realize this wasn't your average ghoul to deal with.

"What are you-!?"

"Shhh… I'm talking." Her grin widened, showing sharp fangs and teeth "It's been a day since I last ate something… Would you like… to be my dinner?"

"!" But the leader couldn't mutter a thing when said girl's kagune pierced through his throat and body, slitting it into two.

"A rinkaku!"

"Leader!" The gang shouted, surrounding her in a circle. "How dare you!"

The girl ignored their chorus of voices and picked up the heart of the body under her foot. Inhaling, she slowly devoured it with a distasteful look on her beautiful face. She'd have vomited if she was ever to eat human before, much less a ghoul months ago. Now, it was just a typical thing in her life. "Ew… He tastes like shit…" She turned to them "May be…" Underneath bloody bandage, they could see a maddening kakugan eyeing them like her pitiful preys.

"**You guys will taste better than him.**"

If people had wandered past this corner this day, they'd have heard lots of pain-filled screams and pleads for life. Of course, there was also a rather frightening laughter along those screams.

It only ended when a strange green light covered the whole place, leaving only corpses of ghouls around like trashes and the creator of this massacre was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**Halkeginia**

Nights in Halkeginia were always like this, a veil of darkness covered the whole starry sky. While the moons would shine and create the path for people, there still were places that they couldn't reach. One of them was the Fairy Forest and who knew the dangers lurking in such a place like that… where everything would stay in the dark.

Right now, it was happening… A robbery.

"Well well, look at that. A little girl with her sister in the forest at this time of night." The thug smirked, watching said girls tremble under his gaze.

The guy behind him licked his lips lustily.

"Step… step back!" The older one, a young girl with silky blonde hair beneath her hat and a well-endowed body, said. Still, her blue eyes contained fear in them.

"Oh, feisty, isn't she?"

"Don't worry. It won't hurt… at all…" The thugs stepped forward.

"Sister Tiffa!" Marie, the little girl in her arms called out, hiding her face in her sister's chest.

"I say step back!" Tiffania felt fortunate when she had brought with her big sister Mathilda's spare wand even if she wasn't a wizard, commoners knew better than trying to cross a noble. "I don't want to hurt you!"

The guys were taken back for a moment, then they laughed.

"Did you see that, John? The little girl is a wizard!"

"Enough fooling around! Hand over your money!"

_Oh no! _The blonde widened her eyes.

"It's no point waving a useless stick at us! Do you think we're that stupid!? A commoner has magic, as if!"

Dropping the wand, Tiffania hugged the little girl close as she slowly backed away from the thugs. Her heart beat faster when she tried to find someone for help but there was no one. Depression and numbness spread through her veins, creating a sense of despair and hopelessness.

_Please, somebody! I'm begging you, help us! _Tiffania closed her eyes.

Perhaps it was the fear, the blonde didn't feel the surge of strange feelings in her body. Only when a gust of strong wind blew past her and the sound of explosion, following by the panic cries of the thugs did she open her eyes.

Before her stood a… person? She couldn't see their face because their back was facing her. They were cladding in a black long-sleeved shirt with hood, black shorts and even black boots. On her left hand was a fingerless black glove.

_Strange attires._

"Gah!" One of the thugs shouted, pointing a trembling finger at the newcomer. And Tiffania finally noticed what made him react like that.

Blood was dripping slowly from their fingers down to the ground. There was even more blood if she looked closely to their back and legs. Seeing it, the blonde suddenly had the urge to puke out but she restrained herself.

"A-Are you alright?" Finally, she found the courage to ask and the stranger turned around. And Tiffania couldn't help but gasp.

This person… no, _this girl _could easily be one of the most beautiful she'd ever seen (it's not like she always sees people). Under her hood, accompanying that pretty face and milky skin, were long curly white hair and a pair of luscious lips… staining with… blood. Her eyes were covered with bloody bandage.

_That must be hurt._Tiffania winced slightly.

"…Human?" Husky voice found it way to her ears. Hearing that, the blonde-haired girl reached out to secure her hat.

"No?" The white-haired newcomer seemed confused, her expression was still "The scent is different somehow." Then she spoke again. "You're not completely human, are you?" The interest in her tone had Tiffania cringe in fear, making her tighten her grip around Marie. Luckily for her, the newcomer couldn't push the matter anymore as the thugs finally got back to their sense and tried to approach again.

"Girly, don't you dare butt in!" He sounded unsure, yet his hand never let go of the knife.

"… bandits?" The white-haired girl was silent for a moment "Can you close your eyes?" She told Tiffania.

"Wha-?"

"You don't want to see this." She finished "And you too, little kid."

"Miss… you are…" _What are you going to do with them, with us? _That was what the half-elf wanted to ask but her mouth just shut up.

"… I'll be fine…" _But they won't._

"O-Okay…"

As if sensing her discomfort, the white-haired girl spoke again, this time with a _slightly_ gentle voice "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Receiving an uncertain nod, the stranger turned to the thugs. "Miss Blondie and little girl, only open your eyes when I say." Said persons hurriedly closed their eyes. "Yield or not?" Asked the girl while cracking her fingers, her question caught the robbers off guard.

"Fuck off, kiddo!"

"…Hm… Suit yourself."

"Brother, that girl…"

"Are you telling me you're scared of this bitch!?" The older-looking one shouted "Shut up and watch me!" He took off, running toward said girl, holding out his knife "You'll regret messing with us!"

"**Fools**_._"The ever so emotionless face of her changed into a sadistic grin.

The first guy only managed to blink when she faded into nothing and reappeared behind him, whispering in a sickening sweet tone "You know… They don't call me 'Zero' for nothing." Following his gaps… were the sounds of bone-breaking. The girl gripped his knife-wielding hand and slammed her elbow on the joint. As weak and simple as it looked, the impact smashed the bones easily like how a car could trample people.

"AHHHHHHH!" _Ah, such a marvelous sound._

**CRACK!**

Another bone, this time was his leg "So noisy…" She sighed before delivering a kick to his stomach, thus sending him flying a few meters away. She would deal with him later. Now... to her other prey.

_Don't…_

"Gahhh!" The other one screamed, trying to flee.

"Too late." Eyes widened in horror as he watched as _the creature _got closer to him. One would say Tiffania and little Marie were very lucky not to witness such a… scene.

The attacker wasted no time in throwing a punch at his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. Smirking, she turned around and did a round horse kick to the waist, making him lie helplessly on the stony ground. Slowly, she reached out and grasped his neck, pulling him up. Bandage-covered eyes never left his face.

"M-Mo…"

_Don't… please…_

"You m-monster."

_Don't make me become a monster. _Familiar voice whispered in her mind.

"…" Teeth clenched, she let go of him "Run… Before I **kill **you."

Instantly, he got up and limped to his brother's side. Together, their shadows faded away in the cold night of Fairy Forest. The girl frowned then turned her attention to the people she was protecting.

"You can open your eyes now."

Tiffania and Marie hesitantly did as she said and they found the robbers were nowhere to be seen, only the white-haired girl standing there, looking so lost and lonely in the darkness.

"Thank you… for driving them away."

"…" A nod as an agreement. "I have a question for you, miss…"

"Tiffania… Tiffania Westwood."

"Westwood-san." Tiffania thought it was weird the way she used the word 'san' to address her rather than using 'miss' "Do you know how I got here?"

"Eh… That…" The blonde's cheeks turned red. "I was shutting my eyes when you came." Her savior raised an eyebrow "It's true. I-!"

"White-haired big sister came from an explosion!" In her arms, Marie spoke excitedly.

"Marie?"

"Explosion?"

"Yeah! And there was this sparkling circle under your feet! It was so beautiful!" Both teenagers fell into silence after that. Tiffania was confused with her little sister's words. She did hear the sound of an explosion but the circle?

Meanwhile, the completely calm-looking newcomer was hiding a shock under her mask. An explosion? Sparkling circle? It couldn't be, right? The only thing she remembered before this meeting was fighting a gang of ghouls and then…

_Her voice…_

Yes, the voice of Tiffania. She'd heard it while snapping a ghoul's head.

_"Please, somebody! I'm begging you, help us!"_

And she bit her lips. _Magic circle… Her pleading… She called for me._

"You called for me."

"Huh?"

Immediately, the white-haired girl gripped the blonde's shoulders, almost yelling with a dangerous tone. "Where am I!?"

"You're- You're in Westwood Village."

"Westwood Village?"

"Albion."

"Albion…?" Tiffania noticed how the girl's voice trembled with the word she just spit out. Strong but delicate-looking hand slowly slipped out of the blonde and she couldn't help but feel comfortable again. "Halkeginia…? No… it can't be… I-!" Much to the half-elf's astonishment, the white-haired savior tore off her bloody bandage violently. Soon, her eyes were bare to see.

Tiffania had to cover Marie's eyes though. Despite the pretty right pink eye, she was horrified to catch a glimpse of a hollow hole in said girl's left one. Together, it became a scary mix between a beauty and a mon- no, a beast. Ignoring her, the white-haired girl looked up and she saw them, the two moons of Halkeginia.

Recognition struck her mind and she laughed uncontrollably…

"After all these time… You got to be kidding me." However, there was no humor in that sentence. Other people might see this as laughter of madness. Yet again, Tiffania could only feel bitterness. It was haunting. That girl… she…

_I've never seen anyone as lost as her…_The thought saddened her.

"Tell me… Westwood-san…" The sourness hadn't left that husky voice but it was enough to snap Tiffania back to reality. "Did you know what you've done?"

"What I've done?" Her arms hugged Marie close as the little kid continued to nuzzle her chest. The smirk on those red lips worried her. "What do you mean?"

"You've called forth me from a very distant place, Westwood-san. In other words…" She told her like a professor teaching her student. "You summoned me to be your familiar." Unconsciously, the one-eyed girl touched the back of her left hand.

"A familiar? I-I don't understand."

"You're a wizard." The shocked look on the blonde's face told the half-ghoul she had no idea about this. "You know… waving wand, chanting spells,…"

"There must be a mistake. I can't be…" Tiffania shook her head in denial.

"You can refuse to believe as much as you want, it won't change anything." There was a hint of sarcasm in her eye. "You can't or you don't want to, Westwood-san?" Her all-knowing gaze made the half-elf shudder. "It's not good… not at all."

Tiffania sweated. Because of her heritage, she always had to be careful around strangers. She could sense people's intentions to her but this person… all she could make out was a mess of emotions, twisting into the smirking mask before her.

"How did you-?" She stuttered.

"How did I know? You're too predictable and your blue eyes have given you away."

"…"

"But I guess I have to cope with the situation." Running fingers through her silky white hair, she stared at the beautiful blonde in front of her "You have to finish the ritual, Westwood-san."

"I'm sorry but I don't know how." The sigh that escaped her familiar's throat had said girl look down in embarrassment.

"I get it. But before we continue, please put that little girl somewhere safe."

Reluctantly, Tiffania looked around and spotted a tree nearby. Letting go of the sleeping child in her arms, she placed her carefully on the ground next to the tree and returned to where her familiar was waiting.

"Ready?"

"There is no other way?"

"Unless you want me wander around without any food or drink, my home is pretty far away." _If only you knew._"A person can only summon one familiar in their entire life." The familiar tried to mimic her teacher, Professor Jean Colbert. "So you're stuck with me. Ready now?" A nod. "Well then, repeat after me. My name is Tiffania Westwood…"

"My name is Tiffania Westwood…" Said the blonde timidly.

"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, bless this humble being and make her my familiar."

"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, bless this humble being and make her my familiar."

Out of nowhere, the white-haired ghoul handed the blonde her older sister's spare wand and guided her wand-holding hand to touch the familiar's forehead.

"Don't be afraid."

Tiffania was still in a daze when it happened. Soft fingers reached for her face and lifted her chin up, she suddenly found herself face to face with her savior. Said person's trademark smirk had turned into a rather sad smile as she leaned in. Only when her lips met another pair did the half-elf finally realize.

_She's kissing me!_

It was only a light kiss but it left a serious impact on the young blonde's mind. She was frozen on the spot until the other removed her lips from hers.

"It's done." And the golden-haired girl widened her eyes, holding her mouth as if it was burnt. A look of disbelief was clear on her face.

"!"

"Why the long face? Is it your first kiss?" Blushing brightly, she nodded.

_What a coincidence, it's also my first too. _The half-ghoul couldn't help but think so.

Then, before Tiffania could say anything, the other girl gripped her shirt hard, eyebrows knitted together and light started to surround her. Seeing that, she got panic but a shake from the latter kept her standing there.

"Don't worry. It's just The Familiar's Runes are being inscribed." That made her master pale.

Being inscribed was very hurt, wasn't it? How could she still be that calm?

Tiffania tugged said familiar's sleeve "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, my master. It's a process any familiar has to overcome." _Compare to my misadventures, this is rather pleasant._ "I can't be too weak, right?" Much to her surprise and happiness, when her familiar rose to meet her again, the missing eye had come back, filling the bloody hole with a color of gentle pink.

The other girl was also taken back by the regeneration of her eye as she traced the eyelid.

"Your eye."

"It seems like all my wounds are healed." A small tug of lips "Thank you, master."

"… Tiffania…"

"Master?"

"It's my name, I want you to call me my name."

"It's very impolite." _Don't let me get close to you. _However, the blonde's puppy eyes trampled her determination, it reminded her of Hinami-chan when said girl wanted her to teach her more about French "…. Alright, Tiffania-san."

They fell into silence.

"I have to get back, it's getting late."

Indeed, it was almost midnight.

"Understand." With that, Tiffania walked to the tree Marie was sleeping while her familiar looked around the space where she'd been summoned.

Lifting the child up, the blonde turned around, only to find the white-haired girl with a black bag on her shoulder.

"Let's go."

She followed her master's footsteps, silently walking behind her like a loyal guardian while checking her surroundings carefully. Her eyes met the shiny moons on the starry sky and she couldn't help but let out quiet sigh. How long had she been away? One month, two months… or perhaps, it'd been years. Everything seemed familiar, yet strangely foreign in many ways. Were these moons always like this bright? And the wind… It was colder than Tokyo's, but it felt comfortable.

She'd dreamed of returning. However, when her life took that drastic change, she didn't think of that possibility anymore.

_But I'm here now, ain't I?_

"What's your name?"

"Tiffania-san?" Said blonde glanced back and gave her a small smile.

"You've already known my name. And I can't really call you 'Hey' or 'Over there' all the time."

"You can call me Familiar." Deadpanned voice.

"…" Seeing Tiffa's expression, the familiar's eye showed a little amusement yet her face remained paralyzed. But if the half-elf had been more observant, she would have seen a gleam of distrust and iciness in those orbs.

"It's Zero." There was no need for her to reveal that long-forsaken name.

_Besides, who would want to be named after a mistress?_ Zero grimaced when she thought about the French history book.

"Just Zero? No family name?"

"It's weird, isn't it?"

"N-No, I didn't mean it." If her hands had been free, she'd have waved them to deny. "It's unique."

"You think so?" A confirmed nod.

"How considerate of you, Tiffania-san."

_But unfortunately, you've just gotten a ghoul for a familiar, Tiffania-san. So please, don't get close to me, I don't want to hurt you._

The trip to Tiffania's village was in a comfortable silence, neither her or Zero talked while traveling. Marie still slept very well in her embrace, the innocent smile on her face made Tiffania's heart warm.

"This is it." Zero took a look at the small cottage in front of her in interest as her master opened the door. Instantly, a boy rushed out to hug the blonde, sobbing.

"Sister Tiffa! I'm so worried!"

"Okay okay, James." The blonde smiled, patting the boy's back tenderly.

"W-Who is it?" James eyed Zero suspiciously. But said girl merely stared back with a blank face.

"She's Zero, my...um..."

"I'm Tiffania-san's protector." Yes, it was the same deadpanned voice.

"Like prince and princess!?" The boy asked in wonder. Tiffa blushed at this while Zero still remained blank.

"I'm a girl. Do I look like a prince to you?"

"No…" He murmured, gazing at her black jacket "But you look tough!"

"James!"

"I know, you're a knight!" A gleam of sarcasm was clear in those pink eyes.

_A knight? I've done many terrible things, kid, things you would consider as evil. I'm no more than a **monster**._

"More like a beast." She said under her breath. James didn't hear it but Tiffania was another story. The half-elf widened those azure eyes and there was… sympathy in them? Wait, sympathy?

"Now James, don't make Zero uncomfortable."

"Sorry." The white-haired girl shook her head.

"It's late. You must go to bed, James." The boy was going to reply when the stern expression on the blonde told him otherwise.

"Yes, Sister Tiffa."

"Please, wait for me for a minute. I have to tuck Marie in." With a nod, the shorter blonde girl walked away.

Zero let out the sigh she had no idea she'd been holding up. After Jason event, she'd always been distrusted toward strangers to the point she wouldn't hesitate to murder them brutally, be it CCG investigators, ghouls or normal human. With everyone's help, she might have better control but once she had tried to kill somebody, it wouldn't stop. Today, she destroyed a gang and devoured their kagune in ease. Yet minutes later, she spared two dirty bandits and helped those girls, one of them was her master.

_What's happening?_

Frowning, she brought a hand to her chest, tracing the skin beneath her clothes. Moving her eyes to the back of her glove-clad left hand, Zero got quiet for a moment before she decided to take off the glove.

On the milky skin were familiar letters. The word was engraved deeply.

_Gandalf._

It appeared on the same day she got to Earth. Zero remembered seeing it in an old book on one of her magic-researching nights. And when she found out the meaning of those strange letters, which actually were written in Greek language, she'd laughed… in tears.

Oh, how ironic it was when the worst wizard in Halkeginia was a Gandalf, the Left hand of God, the famous familiar of Brimir himself.

At the same night, she learnt of her heritage, that she was the familiar of herself, that her element was actually Void, the lost element. She felt angry and betrayed. Being blinded by rage, Touka-san had beaten her up just to keep her under control.

Zero remembered laying still on the cold ground, letting the raindrops damp her everything, a broken smile decorated her lips.

Being a Gandalf and a servant to herself was enough, now she had to serve another person, who might not be human at all.

Then again, her blue eyes… That innocent, pure emotion of those eyes was disturbing. They reminded her of some happy memories, about the first Earth friend she made. The blonde had the same naïve smile as her friend and it, too, relaxed Zero.

_Idiot._

Yes, that boy was an idiot, always trying to save people even if his own life was in danger. And by the look on her master's face, the blonde would have acted just like him. It was a stupid yet well-beloved personality.

However, those eyes weren't the answer she was seeking for her previous actions.

At the moment Zero realized she'd been summoned by the blonde, she could have left… So why? Why did she break her own rules and stay? Zero knew the words about 'summoning her was Tiffania's destiny' were a lie. So was it the influence of her Halkeginia's education that made her agree? Once a familiar, always a familiar?

_Great, so that silly Saito is right, I'm such a mood-swinger. _

Speaking of the devil, here Tiffania was.

"Sorry for making you wait. I'll show you my older sister's room, you can rest in it."

"I can sleep on the bench." Indeed, she'd slept in a place worse than this since her escape from Arima.

"It's fine, she rarely comes home anyway." The blonde's voice sounded lonely.

"I understand."

It took little time to get to the wooden door of said room. Tiffania opened it and a simple bedroom appeared.

"This is it, Zero." She wanted to say something but decided not to "Um… If you need to wash, the bathroom is over there. It's midnight so the water might be very cold. And I can give you some clothes to wear after-…!"

"Tiffania-san, you're rambling." If Zero had been herself before, she'd have chuckled "I have my own clothes so there is no need to lend me yours."

"O-Okay. Goodnight, Zero."

"Good night, Tiffania-san." With that, the half-elf nodded and started to return to her room, but not before she heard Zero's voice again.

"Master." The girl turned around, only to find Zero's back facing her. The white-haired familiar was as still as ever.

"Zero?"

"Did you know you just let a stranger stay in your house? Aren't you…" There was something in that husky voice "Afraid?"

"Why would I…?"

"You don't know me, Tiffania." _You don't know what I am. _

"May be you're right… I don't know you, and I don't really trust you." The blonde honestly stated "But I know better than to judge a book by its cover. Besides…" Tiffania smiled "You're my familiar, aren't you?"

"… I see." Zero nodded "Then, see you tomorrow."

"You too."

That night, Zero lied neatly on the bed, having bathed and changed her clothes. She could feel it, how she became unsettled after Tiffania's last words. Aside from her friends, people tended to be wary of her, especially after her transformation. So it felt weird when she had a newly-met place some belief on her, even just a little.

It made her think of Anteiku and everyone again. Saito, Touka, Hinami-chan, that jerk Nishiki, Yomo,... God, she missed them so much.

_Well, except that perverted Tsukiyama of course. That guy can be rotten in hell._

She wondered what they were doing now. Soon, she felt tired all sudden. With a sigh, she decided to throw away those thoughts and quickly, slipped into a peaceful slumber, which she hadn't had for a long time. And she dreamed of her old life, a life where she still was Louise Francoise de la Valliere, the worst wizard of the century and a **human**.

* * *

**Profile**

**Name: **Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliere

**Alias: **Zero, Gantai (Eyepatch), Centipede (by CCG)

**Age: **17

**Species: **Half-human, half-ghoul

**Gender: **Female

**Birthday**: May 11

**Bloodtype: **A

**RC type: **Rinkaku

**Magical affinity: **Void

**Rating: **SS (as ghoul)

**Height**: 167 cm

**Appearance: **She has long curly white hair, pink eyes and black nails. Often seen wearing all black, on the back of her left hand was _Gandalf_ runes. Showing a kakugan when she uses her power or in hunger. She is slender with an hourglass figure, not too thin or too fat-looking. Zero is seen as a young attractive girl by both genders.

**Personality: **Complicated. As Louise, she was a stubborn, hard-headed and easy-to-anger young girl who takes pride in everything she did, she's also rather acceptable toward her ghoul side. But as Zero, she holds a distant and blank expression most time, she doesn't talk much. After being tortured by Jason, she developes a sadistic, brutal way to deal with her enemies. However, she gets a better control with her hunger and only becomes her ruthless and cynical self when it comes to the people she doesn't trust. In other words, she can easily snap but also quickly comes to her sense, but it doesn't mean she forgives and spares people, not at all. And in spite of being such a mess, Zero is loyal and caring to her friends and children, especially orphans.

**Master:** Herself (Gandalf), Tiffania Westwood (Lifbrasir)

**Skill: **Horseback riding (rusty), doing housechores, reading people's intention.

**Hobbies: **reading,screwing up Tsukiyama, sparring with Touka, playing games

**Likes: **TV, music, silence, her friends, Anteiku

**Dislikes: **Perverts, nobles, Jason, Aogiri Tree


	3. Chapter 2: Her Master

**A/N: **Look who is back everyone, it's me! Yes, I've survived mid-term exams, broken laptop, relationship and Dragon Age: Inquisition,... bla bla bla to come back with chapter 2 of Halkeginia Ghoul! Isn't it wonderful guys? Okay okay, enough of rambling (my bad). First, I want to say thank you to everyone, thank you for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this little fic of mine. I'm sorry if the update is... rather late, I had to deal with my studying and man, it was pretty hard. College life is different than I've thought and I kind of got distracted =)))

And here are my answers to some of the questions in the reviews:

**To the people who had pointed out my mistake with the word 'screwing'**: Thanks, I forgot that =))) And no, they didn't have, as 0-0 had said, angry hate smex LOL~ Louise would have murdered the man if it ever happened.

**To tentaclecat**: Honestly, I haven't thought of the Gallia Arc yet, Joseph is an interesting character but his idea is opposite to the idea of CCG Investigators, especially lawful-good people like Amon. If anything, Arima *evil smirk* or ghouls with twisted nature such as Uta, Eto,... would be a perfect familiar for him. And yes *crying*, it was the Familiar summoning did this to Louise, but she didn't know it. XD

**To Leez**: Louise/Tiffania couple? I haven't decided the couple yet T.T But it would be interesting to write.

And for your other question, I think we have some misunderstanding here, it's because Louise thought the flow of time between two places is different, Earth is in 21st century while Halkeginiais still in medieval time. It's just a guess *shrug*Louise did say the word 'perhaps' after all.

One more thing, like I had comfirmed to tentaclecat, it's the summoning affecting her actions, but you can see pretty clear that Louise like to play cat and mouse with her preys XD

**To navatr1x**: Thank you, I appreciate it ^^

**To ElDragonRojoX**: I'll write some side stories about her time before she was summoned back to Halkeginia, so be patient buddy XD

**To everyone who had reviewed**: Thanks, mina-san!

**Remember to R&amp;R, mina-san!**

**PS: **As I had said, the couple is undecided, so mina-san, who do you think should be paired with our beloved Zero Louise? Please answer in your review ^^ And yes, this chapter is short (in my opinion T.T) so bear with it, guys.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own FoZ or Tokyo Ghoul, they belong to their respective creators.

* * *

"I apologize for my failure, Duke and Duchess Valliere." The man bowed before the woman who known as Karin the Heavy Wind, shame painted all over his face. He didn't dare to meet her icy gaze, for the murderous intention was pretty clear in it. While Karin de la Valliere maintained her composure, her husband practically lost it as his face reddened at the news.

"How come!?" The Duke shouted, glaring furiously at the poor man. The servants serving the nobles backed away in fear for their lives.

"Your daughter, Lady Louise… Despite our finest mages' attempt, her magical energy can't be tracked down…" The man's voice got smaller at the last part "As if she didn't exist…"

Sitting next to her father, Eleanor de la Valliere slammed her hands on the wooden table. She scowled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Did you just say… Louise is gone!?" The word 'dead' wouldn't fit the situation. There was no way her little sister Louise could be dead!

The second Valliere sister, Cattleya, released a choking sob. Tears formed in her eyes as she asked in a shaking tone "Is it true?" She'd heard of it but like Eleanor, she also didn't want to believe such thing could happen…

"Cattleya!"

"I'm sorry my lady…" He gave her a sad look. And before anyone could react, poor Cattleya passed out.

* * *

**Halkeginia Ghoul**

**Chapter 2**

**Her Master**

* * *

_The world around her was a mix of black and red. _

"_Beautiful, isn't it?" Smooth, milky fingers traced the petals gently. "This Manjusaka flower."_

_There was no reply, only the thickest silence embraced this lonely world. _

_She stood there, unimpressed and paralyzed. She wanted to retort back but her body felt numb, lifeless. _

_Blood red irises, malicious and sadistic, met pink. And those lips curled into a dark smile. _

_It was sickening._

"_Don't you think so… Louise…"_

_The smell of blood. So sickening… yet appealing… tempting… __**sweet**__..._

_She stared at that face, feeling the urge to tear apart and break it completely, to strangle and kill off any trace of that disgusting smile._

"_You're sick." Hatred entwined with every word as she growled, teeth and hands clenching._

"_How ironic…" _

_That smile seemed to widen. _

"_Because…"_

_The innocent look only made her blood turn cold_

"_I'm you, Louise…" _

_The flower fell to the cold, hard and dirty ground._

"_Too bad huh."_

_Everything went red._

* * *

It was brown… The ceiling was brown, a common color of woods and trees.

Pink eyes stared at it blankly, emotionless before the owner of those eyes closed them again, masking away what she was feeling. However, her whole body was shaking and the sound of small whimpers and curses were all it took to see through her façade.

After five minutes, she seemed to calm down and her eyes snapped open, no pain and anything alike could be spotted on her beautiful face.

"Damn it."

Zero let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead in the progress. She didn't like this, not at all. It had been a long time since she last had that kind of dream and gods knew how many failed attempts she had to pass before finally pushing it out of her mind. Now, it only took one day (or hours?) in Halkeginia for that cursed nightmare to come back.

_How convenient_.

She narrowed in distaste, biting her lower lips, a habit she had developed in her time on Earth.

Looking out of the window, Zero noticed that the sun hadn't up yet. Unfortunately, she knew there was no way she could fall back to sleep again after that hellish experience.

"Great… Just great."

But she was awaked anyway and she hated wasting time. There were a lot of things she appreciated back home (Japan): electricity, medical services, the laws (she wasn't fond of some rules)… and of course, the technology and means of entertainment. Saito had once declared to her that Japan was the kingdom of electronic devices and games and whatever-he-could-come-up-with. But it was Saito, the 20th ward's resident and Earth's biggest Otaku (self-proclaimed), so of course there would be some…exaggerating words. Then again, Zero couldn't help but agree with him, everything in Japan was wonderful while her old life back then was… well, dull and dry. Usually, she would read books to pass time or work on her lessons, Saito instead dragged her to the world of anime and games and internet. Let's just say he had succeeded in turning her into a game maniac like himself, she wouldn't complain anyway. After all, it was fun to kick his ass in Call of Duty and watched as the 'so-called' King of FPS games (again, self-proclaimed) crying animatedly after his defeat.

Among those things, Zero discovered the most wonderful thing, music. The music wasn't as formal and solemn as it was in Halkeginia (Saito called it Classical). The former wizard found herself taking a liking to the modern-day music and surprisingly, some of the rock bands.

And in time like this, Zero settled on music for a quiet time.

Reaching for her phone, which was lying on the small table next to the bed, Zero put on her favorite black headphone, silently thanking for the guys who invented these marvelous devices.

Soft and velvet-like melody soon hit her ears as she closed her eyes, slightly swaying her head with the flow of sound.

With those stupid images out of her mind, the white-haired girl finally had the chance to rethink all over.

Zero admitted that she was a little… _off _last night. Trying to recall the whole event, she remembered fighting the bandits (could it be called a fight? Those scums never put up much a fight anyway. And did she just make a pun? Oh for God's sake!), meeting the owner of that voice, laughing like a psycho after hearing the truth (she did?) then accepting to be a familiar for a non-human blonde. (If Touka was here, she probably stated that Zero acted recklessly like a freaking stupid moron and punched her.)

_Familiar huh?_

Zero hadn't really paid much attention to this part of magic, she was more into spell-chanting. The books in Tristain Academy of Magic's library didn't provide much information about the art of familiar-summoning and the only section she hadn't checked was the one for the teachers. But she did grasp some basic things about it.

The mages, despite their magical prowess, was not invulnerable. A skilled combatant, especially the sneaky ones, would likely knock out a mage with nothing but his fists and the strength behind those fists. It would be an insult to those so-called 'nobles' if they heard this but honestly, why did you think mages always fought in range. It was because of their fragile bodies and the force of a simple punch in a melee fight could throw them out of the battle. And as Saito and other TvTropers would call, Squishy Wizard was a perfect title to name those guys.

To prevent such things from happening, they needed some assiatance and it came in the form of a familiar, which this generation of Halkeginia people seemed to forget the true meaning of it and insisted that familiars were just a tool to show off their worth as a mage.

Familiar was the term mages had given to the creatures they summoned. A familiar reflected the element of their master, for example, an earth mage would likely have a mouse or other animals which had the connection to dirt.

Zero was pretty sure the only reason she summoned own self was because of her element, Void. If not, she would likely have brought forth something or someone that had, even just a little, connection to Void. But Tiffania Westwood wasn't a mage, yet she had the potential. What could be the connection between herself and the blonde? What had made the ancient ritual decide that Zero should be Tiffania's familiar? Did her master have Void magic too? And what the hell had happened to herself, why did she accept to be a familiar that easily, why did she almost snap!?

All those questions led to another matter. Who was Tiffania Westwood?

Zero had little time to observe the blonde but the previous night had pointed out something. First, Tiffania Westwood might be a mage but still needed some training. Second, she was naïve, nice yet doubtful and wary of newcomers. Third, Tiffania Westwood was definitely not a human. She wasn't a ghoul either. (Heck, Zero wasn't sure if ghouls existed in Halkeginia in the first place.)

Tiffania was different. Yes, she did smell like human. However, there was something else, something weird. It was the scent of forest, of trees… of nature. The mix was strange indeed and the white-haired ghoul found it rather… _pleasant_. And yesterday, Tiffania wore a hat, despite the night time and all, as if she was trying to hide a secret under the protection of it. It made Zero think of a myth she'd heard when she was a young girl, a myth about the natural enemies of humanity. Perhaps, the blonde was trying to hide a pair of… long ears?

_If my thoughts were true then … She could be…_ _an elf. _

_No. With that human-elf mixed scent, a half-elf is more exact. _A smirk decorated her red lips. Her pink irises seemed to twinkle in a kind of _twisted _amusement. She found it rather interesting, seeing the way elves were portrayed in Earth's culture was completely different to Halkeginia's. In this place, elves were seen as an abnormal that had to be creased to exist, that they were nothing but a bunch of magical monsters craved to destroy humanity.

_How convenient it is, to have a deformed flesh-craving ghoul and a magical destructive half elf as a team. What am I to refuse such a wonderful combination anyway? After all, demon and demon work best together. _It might sound rude to talk about Tiffania this way but it was too funny.

However, all the fun vanished when the white-haired girl closed her eyes. There was a reason she didn't make any reference about James and Marie, because she knew exception still existed. Tiffania-san might be a half-elf, yet she took care of those kids and it was enough for Zero to stay with her. But trusting was another matter.

Zero had encountered this kind of matter before and she knew better than to jump into conclusion, everything wasn't white and black. Making the blonde more doubtful and wary of herself wasn't something wise. She needed at least one ally in this world, otherwise, it would be hard to survive. And no, she wasn't joking about the 'survive' part, god-only-knew what would happen if the church found out about her existence. The past had told her one thing she wouldn't forget, never underestimate the power of an organization, especially the ones like CCG, Aogiri Tree or in Halkeginia, the Romanian church.

"I have to be careful."

But she would deal with it later. Right now, living in this down-to-earth place might be the primary problem. She really couldn't imagine a life without her phone or other devices, it was fortunate that she hadn't forgotten her solar charge or else this could drive her crazy, she had kept a lot of songs, games and e-books in them. And the clothes, oh god, the clothes… Zero didn't really want to think about what those 'nobles' wore daily, the images were just… a damage to her mind. Urh… Frilly dress, corset… the strange hair styles…

Damn it, she needed new clothes!

Let's just face it, compare to Earth, this place was like medieval-… wait a minute…

_It's been medieval time for 6000 years, just great. _Zero narrowed. This was going to be a long vacation.

* * *

Meanwhile, in her room, the blonde known as Tiffania Westwood opened her eyes, waking up from her slumber. As usual, she sat up, made her bed and prepared for her daily chores. When she walked along the corridor, her eyes landed on the wooden door of Big Sister Mathilda's room, where her familiar was residing. She wondered for some seconds whether to give said girl a wake-up call or not, but as she was about to knock the door, the bathroom's one suddenly opened, revealing a newly-bathed Zero with her clothes, a v-neck long-sleeved black shirt and shorts, clung to her own body like a second skin. Wet, curly strands of hair framed her beautiful face, the white color had turned into light grey due to the water, creating a rather messy look on her normally neat image. Red lips seemed to stand out and Tiffania thought of the previous night's event, when those lips touched hers…

With that, the blonde was left jaw-slacked, shocked by the grand appearance while Zero merely tilted her head in unspoken confusion. Yet, the ghoul didn't miss a hint of fear in the blonde's blue eyes.

"Tiffania-san?" The ghoul's husky voice broke the staring contest and Tiffania blushed, constantly apologizing in a shy tone.

"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

It was strange, for Zero, to receive such meek attitudes from other people than Hinami. After all, Saito was an over-optimistic idiot and her Anteiku family had a tendency to speak with fists, legs, and the worst, kagune. "I take that you don't get to meet people much." Zero said lazily as she stared at the half-elf. "Your posture is too tense."

Tiffania looked down in embarrassment; her familiar was completely right about her guess. When she was young, the blonde didn't have the opportunity to make friends or even have a small talk with the villagers, seeing how wary they were of her mother and herself. And it got worse after that… _accident_, she became doubtful towards everyone, Mathilda was an exception as the older woman was the only person beside James and Marie who ever treated her kindly, without glaring and saying horrible things about her. Her familiar could be considered as one too, but only when she hasn't known everything yet.

"Uhm… You must be hungry." She tried to change the topic, secretly letting out a relieved sigh for not stuttering. Yet, she didn't notice the way her white-haired familiar averted her eyes instantly at the mention of hunger. Those pink orbs seemed to darken slightly before returning to their former state. A blank, distant look soon decorated her face. "I will make breakfast-"

"Pardon my interruption but I can't join you and the children."

"Zero…?"

"I still have some things to do. Daily workout." She stated as if it was a normal thing to do.

"Daily… workout?" To say Tiffania was surprised was an understatement. Zero looked nothing like the men that trained fiercely in the village, who, Tiffania had to admit, were a bunch of grumpy, muscular brutes. Despite her strength, the white-haired girl was more of a noble woman, who spent their days drinking tea and mingling around, or perhaps… a princess?

"..."

"O-Okay. Um… Have a good day, Zero." She walked away with a red face, leaving the familiar standing there, her face remained emotionless.

_What a day. _That was Tiffania's thought as she moved around the kitchen swiftly to make breakfast. It might be rather rude to say this but honestly, her distrust to Zero hadn't faded yet. The white-haired girl gave off a dangerous aura and it made the blonde feel rather uncomfortable. It was very disturbing, the way she eyed everything. Ironically, the feelings were mutual, Tiffania could tell that Zero was full of doubts and skeptical towards her too.

_Fair enough. _Because she had her own secrets and Zero was too mysterious.

Sighing, she put aside the feelings and paid more attention to the meals she was preparing. With everything was done, she decided to call for the kids.

"James, Marie-!" She didn't get to finish her words as the sounds of running and laughter echoed in the corridor.

"Coming, Sister Tiffa!"

Tiffania soon found herself looking at the smiling faces of James and Marie.

"Good morning, Sister Tiffa!"

"Good morning to you too." She placed the dishes on the table "Now, let's have breakfast, okay."

Marie quickly sat on her spot but James remained standing there, looking around. "Where is Miss Zero, Sister Tiffa? Is she not going to eat with us?" Confused, the boy asked, rubbing his hair.

"Zero has something else to do, James, so she can't be with us."

"Oh…" He sounded disappointed somehow. Seeing this, Tiffania smiled.

"James likes Zero?"

"N-No… I just-… I mean-…" The kid stuttered, blushing furiously as he turned away to hide from the blonde's amused eyes. "Sister Tiffa!" He shouted in embarrassment while said girl just kept her smile on the lips. "You're teasing me!"

"Alright, no more teasing." She chuckled.

"Who is Miss Zero, Sister Tiffa?" Marie, being a curious girl, asked.

Hearing it, the blonde slightly stiffened, the images of yesterday event flashed in her mind and she shuddered, remembering the sight of blood and Zero's twisted smirk. "Don't you remember, Marie? You've already met her." She managed to sound normally.

"Um… Oh, you mean the white-haired big sister who saved us!" Marie exclaimed in wonder and joy. Of course the little girl would never forget such… _magnificent _person. "She looked so cool and so-so…" Marie tried to find a word "So awesome!"

"Wait, what do you mean Miss Zero saved you and sister Tiffa!?" James widened his eyes in disbelief, Tiffania could see those little sparks of admiration in them.

"She kicked those bad guys' butts!"

"Language, Marie!"

"Sorry" Marie rubbed her head in shame before the excitement appeared on her face again "You should have seen that, James! Big Sister Zero drove them away easily!" Said Marie, even if she had closed her eyes the whole time Zero taught the bandits a lesson. As a friendly kid, she was fast to get used and started to call Zero 'Big Sister', rather than James' timid 'Miss Zero'.

"Awww!" The boy pouted.

Marie continued her epic tale of Zero while James sat and listened, making Tiffania sigh. But she soon smiled, it was wonderful to see them act so care freely and happily like this. She let the two chat, enjoying the peace and the laughter of two children. That was when she caught a glimpse of unfamiliar shirt and shorts hanging on the clothes line from the window. They were hung neatly, showing that whoever did it was a very tidy person and familiar with house chores. To be honest, Tiffania was surprised once again as she knew the only one had those clothes and washed them would be Zero. Thinking back again, training wasn't something only men could do so it wasn't very strange when she heard about Zero's daily workout, but washing was another story. No high classed woman would wash their clothes, they didn't even know how to wash them properly. Zero looked pretty much a noble, yet she could do chores. Such weird combination, wasn't it? It made Tiffania wonder what kind of person Zero really was again…

Shaking head, Tiffania decided to focus on breakfast. It was too soon to think anyway.

Back to Zero, the white-haired ghoul was wandering around, finding a safe place from the eyes to unleash her kagune. Apparently the small house of her master was deep inside 'Fairy Forest', a forest that was rumored to be, she remembered hearing from one of those Albion nobles, the home of many dangerous magical creatures and… well, elves. So the whole place was rather… empty, except for those hidden creatures. It was a perfect training ground.

Zero didn't like Jason. No, she despised every fiber of his damned existence. But she couldn't help it, his bad habit had stuck in her head and what disgusted her more was that she _liked_ it, did it without even being aware. Cracking fingers brought out something inside her, it was like… a 'berserk' button, minus the 'berserk' part when she was… sober. It made she feel strong, yet she knew it was because she was getting more and more sadistic. Zero realized. Still, she kept it.

After cracking a few fingers, she eventually took off her shirt, leaving only a sport bra on her upper half. She didn't want to get one of her few shirts dirty with blood, the smell would be hard to fade.

Her left pink eye squinted and was replaced with black sclera and a single red pupil. The milky skin of her waist was torn off and strange, red blood tentacles broke out of her body. The white-haired girl hummed in content when her kagune felt the fresh air.

Thirty minutes later, Zero finally stopped whatever she was doing to look around and she frowned. Training with kagune in a forest might not be a pretty good idea, she had, somehow, crashed a _few _trees with her tentacles and broke them completely.

Shaking head, the white-haired familiar picked her shirt up and put it on, but not before she heard something. Acting on instinct, Zero jumped up and reached for a tree, hiding herself behind the branches and leaves. That was when the sound of footsteps met her sensitive hearing and from the bushes, two men wearing what looked like some military uniforms appeared, both with seriousness on their faces.

"It's gone." The redhead said.

"As expected of Fairy Forest, always full of dangerous creatures." The other, a brunette, muttered "Look at those trees, it can't be a work of elves, can it?"

The first man narrowed his eyes "We're not here to investigate whatever did this, David."

"Right right, the big plan! Why the hell did I forget that?" David exclaimed sarcastically and his teammate glared at him "But seriously, Will, trying to kidnap a child is kind of… well, dishonored."

"Until now you still think of honor?" William scowled.

"What do you expect!? I'm a freaking knight!"

"Your title is no more than a remnant of the past, do you hear me?" William looked torn "We're nothing but…"

"Trashes…" David finished his words. "Brimir damn it, Will, how… just how could this happen? How could the Royal family fail?"

"They didn't fail, it was the army who had failed them." Shame painted over Will's face, making the man look older than his age.

"And now we're serving Reconquista, the country enemy…"

_The royal family? Reconquista? So that means… I have been away from Halkeginia for only a few days._

Behind the branches, the white-haired half-ghoul was deep in thought. Her memories were rather in tact even after a long time, and the two men were definitely talking in Engli-… Albionian. So then, the royal family was probably the Albion royalty and Reconquista… Zero had heard about this news, the war between the government and the rebels had been going on for a while, with neither side made any real success after many useless battles. The last rumor she had received was about the king's death and that Reconquista had started to take over the country. But just a look from these two's conversation, it seemed like the royalty had been defeated, even the knights started to join the rebels.

Another conversation began.

"Just… don't talk about this anymore. We have a mission to do." Hearing that, David scoffed.

"Why do we need to catch this Tiffania Westwood anyway?"

"To ensure one's loyalty is to know and capture their weakness." The brunette stated with a cold voice "Apparently, that 'so-called' Viscount recruits Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt, a thief,…" At the word 'thief', William's expression darkened "to do his dirty jobs."

"The Crumbling Dirt does dirty jobs, fitting that damned thief huh..." The brown-haired guy scorned.

"And that guy's only relative… is a girl named Tiffania Westwood."

"Oh great." David spat "You know what… Let's just stop it here, I'm sick of hearing this shitting plan. Finish and we can get away from this place."

Nodding, William turned around and the two decided to get away from the spot.

Only after they had gone did Zero reappear. Her face was blank with no emotions could be spotted in her eyes.

She should have known it, anywhere she went, troubles always followed. Zero needed to rethink about Tiffania again. She had expected the blonde to be someone… well, important, seeing Tiffania had summoned her, a freaking Void mage-ghoul (whatever)…. But… Honestly, the sister of Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt? Those two didn't have any thing alike. For someone like Tiffania to be the sibling of that thief…

Zero threw that thought away as soon as possible, she didn't have the right to judge their family. Who was she to deny their relation? And she had another thing to worry about, her master's safety.

Those two knights wouldn't be a problem, if Earth's weapons couldn't do much harm to ghouls, then Halkeginia's medieval versions would end up as trashes. Zero was fast enough, her reflex was better than normal human, so to finish a few squishy mages was as easy as eating a cake. Of course, she still had trump cards to deal with strong enemies, her Void magic and kagune were a force to be reckoned with. If the situation became grim and suicidal, Zero was ready to release what she hated most, her kakuja.

Sighing, the white-haired familiar couldn't help but pinch her nose in annoyance.

_So much for the whole 'vacation' thing huh._

* * *

**Two days later**

"_Can I visit the village with you, Tiffania-san?"_

With that question, Tiffania suddenly found herself going to the village's market with a bodyguard. Zero had left no place for her to deny and she couldn't do anything but let the white-haired familiar go along.

Then…

Baam!

The blonde snapped out of her thought, only to see a man lying on his back, wincing and cursing in pain. And next to her, Zero held out an arm, looking as emotionless as ever.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch!?" The guy yelled, rubbing his chest.

"You're going to walk into her." Zero stated matter-of-factly. A moment later, she added "You do it on purpose."

"So what if I did!? She's a freak! Everyone knows that!" He sneered.

Tiffania reached for her hat, pulling it closer. Her head bowed lowly when she started to notice the people were gathering, smirking and whispering. The blonde bit her lips, her face wrinkled in distress.

While Tiffania couldn't hear it, Zero was a different story. Her ears picked up all the conversation these people were talking about. Tiffania, they were talking about Tiffania and some words just made the white-haired ghoul frown in disgust, wondering how low these persons had stood.

"And?"

"What the…?" His smile fell "You…. You are defending her…" Then the man snarled in anger "How dare you protect that _monster_!?" Zero could see Tiffania go stiff at his accusing words out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah right!" One of the crowd exclaimed.

"How dare you!"

"She must be another freak!"

"Go away!"

"Zero…" Tiffania muttered weakly, tugging said girl's sleeve. But the ghoul remained there, unmoving.

Before the blonde could speak, someone threw a rock at them. Unfortunately, they were facing Zero here. So the next thing surprised everyone, the girl caught it with her left arm, the one that had prevented the man from slamming into her master, and clenched her fingers. The rock, something hard enough to make a person bleed, crumbled completely inside that delicate-looking hand. Letting the parts fall freely, Zero turned to the culprit, a young man looking no older than twenty years old. Her blank eyes became something else, no longer holding indifference. She eyed him and the man trembled, the coldness was too great. He felt like being pushed into a chamber of ice and left there to die. Gulping, he cowered in fear, hoping the girl would look away. She did, but not before picking another rock to throw at him. The rock eventually met his forehead, breaking his skin. People and even Tiffania stared in shock when the man fainted, lying on the ground motionlessly.

Zero just observed the event lazily.

"M-Murder!" Someone broke the silence with her scream.

"Call a medic!"

While everyone in panic, Zero carried Tiffania out of the scene. And they hid in a valley. Letting the girl down, Zero rubbed her temples in annoyance and murmured something.

"Shit… I did it again." She had told herself not to act carelessly but she just went against her own words. The side effect of being a ghoul was this, Zero just kind of wanted to tear apart persons and see them in blood, it didn't help that her control seemed to slip easily these days. At this rate, she would draw those knights in soon with too much attention. Sighing, she turned to Tiffania "You alright?"

The blonde was still in shock, she didn't know how to response her familiar. One part, she was glad to know no one had harmed them. On the other hand, she felt scared of how Zero had hurt that man easily with just a rock. She was conflicted.

"Zero…"

"Yes?"

"It's... nothing…"

"You're frightened."

"…"

"Is it because of my action?" Tiffania's throat had fused shut after hearing this. Her blue eyes cast down in shame and fear. "It's okay. I know I can be rather…" Zero tried to find a word. "Scary…"

"Zero… I…"

However, the white-haired girl shook her head in understanding. "Let's continue the shopping." She was about to walk away when small, soft fingers held her wrist in place. "Tiffania-san?"

"I… I don't want to lie, Zero… I'm afraid of your action earlier…" Zero raised an eyebrow, Tiffania just blushed "But… Like I had said before, I'm not the kind of person to judge a book by its cover. So thank you… for protecting me…"

"I'm your familiar, it's my job to ensure your safety."

"I know, but still…" The blonde's expression softened "Thank you, Zero. You're a good person." Definitely a good person.

Zero kept her lips tight, not saying a thing. It reminded her of Hinami, of how the younger girl had looked at her and said those words in happiness. Somehow, she felt warm inside.

It was a quick tug of lips, yet the half-elf could see it clearly. Zero smiled, she had smiled, even it faded away very fast.

"No problem, master." Turning, she said "Let's go."

"Wait... You're not going to ask why they behaved hostilely towards...me?" The blonde asked almost bitterly.

"I don't have the right to question you, Tiffania-san." Said the half-ghoul. "It's your privacy."

"Z-Zero..." The girl could only stutter, she was sure a normal person would have questioned in rage and anger after such things. (Un)Fortunately, Zero was not a normal person... or sane either.

And Tiffania Westwood smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Tristain Academy of Magic.**

The whole school was, literally, a mess after the third Valliere daughter's disappearance and even Tristain's finest mages couldn't track her down. Then Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt decided it was the perfect time to steal what the headmaster dubbed as The Staff of Destruction, thankfully he did not succeed due to the instant interference of Professor Colbert and others. Students and their parents actually got worried and of course, it put the place into high alert, especially when the princess was going to attend Founder Brimir's birthday celebration.

Everyone was busy with the protection of the event, seeming obvious while the main character, Princess Henrietta herself, was in… pain.

Her childhood friend, Louise Francoise… oh Brimir… The girl was like a sister to the princess, it made her heart break when the news about Louise's death reached her. Henrietta had cried for her lost friend, she had cried a lot. Even until now, the ache still hadn't faded yet and somehow, Henrietta felt guilty. Despite being her friend, Henrietta had done absolutely nothing to prevent the treatments people had given Louise in her time at the academy. Looking back again, Henrietta realized that she had never really noticed of those things because Louise would always hide away the shame under those smiles. Such friend she was…

"…-ness… Highness… Your highness?"

Henrietta blinked her eyes. Agnes was looking at her worriedly.

"Are you alright, Your Highness? Maybe we should call a healer…"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Agnes." Henrietta gave the knight a forced smile. "Have we arrived yet?"

"Yes, we have, Your Highness." Bowed the woman before holding a hand out to help the princess.

Quickly, the violet-haired girl stepped out of the carriage and met the eyes of Tristain Academy of Magic's headmaster, frowning. Old Osmond seemed to be unnoticed of that and greeted her with respect while the students applauded loudly enough to snap the princess out of her depression. Somehow, Henrietta managed to smile gently at her people, but not without feeling sick in her stomach.

"Welcome, Your Highness, to Tristain Academy of Magic."

"Thank you, Headmaster."

The main event, the presentation of Familiars, eventually passed away with the winner being Tabitha and her dragon, Sylphid. Henrietta retreated early to her room to rest, she did have a tiring day after all. She didn't even lie on her bed when Agnes suddenly stormed into the room with a concerned look on her face.

"Agnes?"

"Please, pardon for my intrusion, Your Highness. But this is an emergency." The knight bowed "It's from Her Majesty." Agnes gave the princess an envelope with the royal family's seal on it.

Confused, the princess took it and opened, only to find a small letter inside. And the words from her mother made her blood turn cold.

There was a traitor and he had stolen her letter. Her letter for _Wales. _

_Brimir…_

She didn't understand how mother had known about her and Wales but she didn't bring herself to care. Henrietta just knew she had to stop that traitor, because if that letter got to Germania, it would be the start of a disastrous war.

_Oh Brimir…_

_Why is this happening…?_


	4. Chapter 3: Tiffania's Guardian

**A/N: **Hey guys, I'm back! I know it has been like... 7 months since my last post. I got into an accident and I had to spend a few months in the hospital. The worst thing was I had to catch up with my study again and it was hard TvT. To everyone, thank you for R&amp;R this little fic of mine, and I swear, I won't drop this. It would take time to finish the next chapters, I hope you guys still follow this.

I wrote this chapter in rush, so it might not be perfect. Please, feel free to point out my mistakes ^v^.

**To my friends who want to see Halkeginia people react to Louise's change: **Sorry guys, but you won't get to see that until (at least) the next chapters. Be patient, ne. XD

**To my friends who want to see some romance**: May be later, I mean I haven't had enough fun with Louise running around as an emotionally unstable badass... yet. =))

**To devilsama666**: Thanks, I honestly missed some typos XD

**To ElDragonRojoX**: There is a difference of time between the story part before the title and the story part after the title. For example, the conversation of Louise's family and the mage would happen a few days earlier before the part about Zero and Tiffa. Hope that can clear your question XD

**To Edelhart**: Wow, such a long review =)) Thank you for your compliment. I actually thought a lot when I decided to write about a ghoul Louise, it was very hard to imagine such a prideful person like her would react in the same condition as Kaneki, I mean I have never been through such grief so sometimes, it could get difficult. Yet, the idea was tempting and here I am, posting this for all you guys =))

Also, thanks for the advice, my friends also said that too. I will take notice and write more carefully next times. ^.^

Note: No, I'm not offended at all, don't worry. About harem, it's okay but to be honest, I don't like to read or write harem fics, it feels weird when there are thousands of people but the characters in harem fics would only get attracted to the main guy/girl? Seriously, can you really fall in love with many people at the same time?

Note 2: Hmm... Tiffania, Henrietta and Tabitha... God, it's so hard to choose TvT. The reason you had stated, I have thought the same when I made Tiffania the master. If not the love interest of Louise, she could be the BFF who will hold Louise back when she falls. XD

Note 3: No, this won't be a harem.

Note 4: No, Louise won't be a futa.

Note 5: I've continued =))))

**ENJOY, MINA-SAN!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own FoZ or Tokyo Ghoul, they belong to their respective creators.

* * *

"I'm sorry…"

The woman turned to the owner of the voice, glaring at the person while letting out a restrained, if not full of anger, question. "What are you talking about, Viscount Wardes?"

"Lady Eleonore… I know I should have been there for her… I'm her fiancé and yet…" The man closed his eyes in grief. "I could have been there with her… with my Louise…"

The first Valliere sister clenched her hands at his words. "It's not your fault, Viscount." She looked away, eyeing the scenery before her as her body met the wind. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again, this time with more calmness. "You're a good person."

Little did Eleonore know, that so-called 'good person' was hiding a sneer behind the shadow of his hat.

_If only you knew… _Wardes chanted it repeatedly inside his mind, silently laughing at the foolish woman before him.

* * *

**Halkeginia Ghoul**

**Chapter 3**

**Tiffania's Guardian**

* * *

"Have you heard about Jack?"

"Of course I have! The poor boy. That freak had surely caused unforgettable trauma to him."

"I went to pay him a visit last night and… my god, his head was all bandaged up. His wife stated that the man wouldn't be conscious for a few days."

"That's terrible!"

"That witch, it was all her fault!"

It would just be another sunny day of Westwood village, if it wasn't for the constant whisperings of the villagers. People stood together, discussing and talking about a certain event with clear disdain and hatred. Some of them openly cursed and blamed the so-called 'freak'.

In a corner of the busy market stood a figure in black with both of her hands crossing while leaning against a store's wall. The atmosphere was hot enough to make people sweat a lot yet the person seemed to be unfazed even when she was wearing a jacket. The jacket's hood covered the upper part of her face, making the girl look more mysterious and darker, or to the villagers, more dangerous. Blank pink eyes never left the crowd, seeming devoid of emotions as she listened to the craps people were spreading over their small population.

Sometimes, it made Zero wonder if it was human's nature to be a bunch of talkative assholes. The more they talked, the worse the news became. And in the end, that timid blonde turned into a manipulative, sickening freak. Zero, herself, was never mentioned as the true culprit in their conversation; instead, she was painted to be a poor little girl who was forced to serve that horrible bitch. She had almost stabbed one of her tentacles to the owner of that statement, asking herself how the fuck that moron came to that conclusion. In fact, there were so many fools believed the idea that they were making a plan to 'rescue' the 'damsel-in-distress'.

Throwing another cold glare at them, she decided not to waste her time anymore and turned around, walking back to the cottage. At first, she came here just to find some information about the two knights but those guys seemed to be rather good at covering up their existence. On her way to return, she overheard some people talking and she spent the next 10 minutes listening to shitty things.

"Did ya find her?"

This stopped the white-haired girl on her track. Adjusting the collar, Zero slowed her speed, focusing on the source of that familiar voice.

"According to the villagers, she's living in that forest."

"Alone?"

"No… With three orphans…" The half-ghoul raised an eyebrow at that. Since when there was a third orphan? Tiffania, herself, had said that the room Zero was using belonged to her sister. Wasn't the blonde's sister supposed to be Fouquet?

_False information._

"Orphans, seriously!?" The other one hissed quietly in anger. "Are you fucking kidding me, Will!? Brimir be damned! I'm not going to slaughter a bunch of parentless children!"

"You think we have other choices?"

"Argh!" For a moment, Zero thought the brunette had almost launched a punch at the other man "… When?"

"Tonight."

Zero slipped away without their notice, she had heard enough. To be honest, these men could have acted sooner. But they remained calm, completely patient… like a pair of calculative wolves waiting for their perfect plan to unfold. Zero would have praised them, if they hadn't listened to those false rumors. How those 'knights' could get themselves into the dead trap she had planned for them made the light in her eyes twist.

_Tonight._

"Will?"

David stopped to look at his partner. Said man was staring at something, his eyes narrowed in suspect as he observed the view quietly.

"No…" William shook his head "It's just my imagination."

"…" David merely raised an eyebrow.

A hint of grimness crossed his face. _I have a bad feeling about this._

Indeed, William's worry proved to be true that evening, when he and his friend got _tore apart_ by a crimson-eyed demon, whose twisted grin carved deeply into their mind even in their last moment of life.

* * *

A day passed away very quickly. And the sun soon disappeared behind the horizon. It was a cold night at Fairy Forest. The wind was harsh, cold against people's skin. The twin moons of Halkeginia still shined brightly, yet the whole forest was covered by the darkest shadow. The difference became clearer as silence grew and David, despite being a brave knight, could do nothing but have his weapon and shield ready in his clammy palms, sweats trailed down his tempers to his neck. Next to the man, William held the sword with both hands, eyes traced the details of the road, watching for any danger.

"Will…" David murmured "Don't you feel… a little off?" The frown on said person's face deepened as his grip on the sword's handle tightened. "This place is too quiet."

In their mind, the word 'quiet' could be translated into 'dangerous'.

Yes, their instincts, both as highly trained knights and human, screamed for caution. Still, they continued to walk.

There was absolutely nothing at all, as if the whole forest had fallen asleep upon their first step into it. David gritted his teeth, forcing himself to be calm and concentrated. He only wished this would end soon.

Unbeknown to them, a pair of pink eyes had followed every movement of them ever since they entered. The person was sitting on a tree, leaning her chin on the palm as she watched the knights, smirking in amusement at the sight.

To Zero, the night was perfect. She had snuck away from the cottage as soon as the others went to bed. After days of wandering around, Zero had come to know every spot of the forest like the back of her hand. To reach Tiffania's cottage, the knights would have to cross a rocky, _dark_ path of the forest.

The smirk on her lips widened. She didn't bring her mask despite risking her own safety. Something in the back of her head told the white-haired ghoul that she would enjoy showing her face while taunting them. Of course, the 'taunting' part included severing limbs after limbs and death. So there was no need for a piece of leather to do the cover job because no one would get away. Neat, right?

"Let the fun begin, shall we?" She whispered into the winds.

"!"

"Will?" David asked the man who suddenly stopped. Yet all he received was a….

"Look out!"

The brunette only managed to turn around when he saw _her_. An absolutely gorgeous woman with long, majestic white hair. Her lips curled, creating a gentle, breath-taking smile. And her eyes… her eyes were…

The man gasped, feeling his lungs suddenly out of air as the pain spread in his stomach. Choking, David looked down and… it was all red…

Zero lazily but slowly pulled her hand out of the man's body, making sure that he felt every movement of her action. The smile never left her face during the whole thing, as if this was just a daily event in her life. Indeed, but it was never a human. This man was the first human she ever killed and somehow, it excited her… a lot. The flesh of a mortal was softer than a ghoul's, it was easier to stab and pierced through. If she had to compare, it was like smashing a dumpling with your finger. Zero smirked at how silly the thought was.

The moment her hand left completely, the brunette stumbled on his feet and soon, fell onto his knees, holding his side as blood leaked. At the sight of the red-stained man, Zero's left eye instantly changed, forming a blood red iris in the middle of her black sclera. And she turned around, all smiling at the other knight, whose face was blank after seeing his comrade fall. Soon, rage filled his eyes and his jaw clenched. He lurched forward, letting out a furious shout.

"HOW DARE YOU!" The man swung his sword at her.

Zero easily dodged it. Seeing this, William made another attempt with a backswing. It missed the white-haired girl by perhaps a few centimeters as she scooted back in time. Turning, the man brought his weapon down, delivering a blow to her head. Again, the girl side stepped and his blade cut through nothing.

"Grhhh!" William frowned. This girl was very fast.

The next few minutes remained the same. William kept attacking while Zero was just playing around without any assault. It was clear to both of them that the fight was one-sided yet William refused to back down, he had to protect his injured friend!

After another failed attack, the red-haired man jerked back, panting heavily. Zero let out a small laugh. "Tired already?" To be honest, she was quite surprised to see he could still stand after many stamina-wasting hits like that, not to mention the armor and the two-handed sword he was carrying. A rather impressive feat for a normal person indeed but, to compare with people she had fought such as Kotarou Amon or Kishou Arima, this was nothing.

"I won't lose." Said the knight as he raised his weapon again, this time with more determination.

Dashing forwards, he made a swing. And surprisingly, following it, was a blade made of wind. The white-haired girl narrowed slightly. She tilted her head and the blade flew past her cheek, creating a scratch and destroying a tree before fading away.

"How about that… Demon?"

The younger girl was emotionless, staring at the dead tree for a few seconds. When she looked back, William could see clearly the blood vessels in her left 'demon' eye, it seemed to glow in the night. Blood trailed down her milky skin but it was like she didn't care. Then, her body trembled and she held her head. The next thing was the sound of uncontrollable laughter that full of amusement and madness. In the silence, it stood out so much.

"Honestly, what's with that attack, Mr. Will? What are you? A dot mage?" Said guy scowled "I'm fighting a magic knight." All sudden, her laughter stopped. "I think I have played enough with you…" She licked her lips.

William felt his body falling to the side, meeting the ground and rocks with a loud 'thud'. The man had no idea what was happening until he saw his leg in front of very his eyes, in a puddle of red liquid. He released a choking gasp, the pain finally made its way to his brain.

BAM!

"GAAHHHHHHH!"

He was sent flying across the trees and landed next to the unmoving body of David. Several of his ribs broke, one of them must have stabbed his lungs because he was coughing up blood. Brimir damned it, he couldn't breathe. All left his mouth was the sound of choking.

"Arrogance is a fatal weakness of human, they say." That damned demon snickered cheerfully "It's certainly true in your case, right, Mr. Will?" The sound of cracking fingers and footsteps filled the whole place.

William could only stare when the girl walked to him. Her gentle smile had become a twisted, sadistic and dark grin. Behind her back, there were multi of disgusting red tentacles. Spots of blood could be seen on all over her torso, face and hair. She looked down, licking the smear near her mouth's corner.

"You see, Mr. Will… I have a rather… interesting hobby." Spoke Zero in a disturbing voice "I like tearing people apart…" At that, she smiled "And when I say tearing apart… it's like…" A slash and William cried out again. His right arm lied lifelessly in Zero's hand, as if it was a piece of meat. Well, it was. "This."

The ghoul grazed the arm silently. In her mind, this was such a waste of food. Two corpses could be the meals for two months. But sadly, she didn't have anything to keep them fresh and the smell of rotten flesh couldn't be considered as good. She wasn't a glutton like Rize but it seemed like the only option was to eat them immediately, Zero sighed. After all, there wasn't any way better than this to clean up the mess she had made.

This wasn't the first time she ate human's flesh. However, after a whole month with ghouls' meat, this thing was just so… delicious. God, the taste was heavenly on her tongue.

William watched in horror as the white-haired girl devoured his arm in satisfaction. Pride was useless in this situation, even the bravest man would cower in fear at the scene. Tears gathered in his eyes' corners. He wailed, making incomprehensible noises with each cry.

Done with the arm, Zero turned to the moaning man, slowly approaching him. William tried to crawl away, yet he remained still. The ghoul laughed out loud, feeling proud that she had made a magic knight look like a horrible mess.

"Please, don't run away. I haven't finished yet."

"N-No… ARGH!"

"Don't…" A quiet voice made its appearance.

Raising an eyebrow, Zero glanced at the brunette who should have been dead. Instead, he was trying to stand up, his blue eyes met her mismatched ones. "Don't… touch my comrade…"

That sentence broke a nerve in Zero's head. _Human_ always talked about comrades and teamwork stuffs, yet they denied the bonds of _her kind_. They stated that all ghouls were murderers and monsters, they stated that ghouls had killed thousands of innocents. But they never thought twice when they slaughtered those innocent ghouls who didn't harm anyone. Weren't many of _her kind_ dead under their blades and guns? So how could they go around and call for peace when they were the killers too?

Just because human and ghouls were different?

Zero bore her eyes into David, expression twisted into rage. "Shut the fuck up." She gripped the guy's neck, bringing him to the air. David struggled in her grasp, hands tried to pry her fingers away but she didn't even flinch. All she did was tightening the grip more.

"David!"

Upon hearing William's voice, an idea hit Zero's head. Her scowl faded and turned into a mad, sickening grin.

_To those 'chivalrous' knights, what is worse than their own death? _Her grin widened. _Their friends' death._

_And what is the best death ever? _

Her mouth opened, showing perfect white teeth.

_Being eaten alive._

She brought the man close, her teeth cut through his skin and tore the flesh out of his shoulder. Sweet taste of blood and meat soon filled her senses. Red dots of liquid splattered all over her beautiful face.

"GAHHH! ARGHH!"

In this cold, dark night; the screams and the hopeless cries were like a beautiful song to her ears. Her black nails and tentacles clawed the victim's back, pulling his organs out from behind. It was a non-stop circle of chewing and swallowing. The pleasure of eating and torturing at the same time made her laugh… _happily. _

At that very moment, everything about her seemed inhuman.

"DAVID! ARRHH!"

The sorrow coming from the other person just increased her fun.

It only ended when Zero had devoured David's upper half. She hated the lower half, especially men.

Running a bloody hand through her hair, Zero threw a glance at the crying man. "It's sad, is it? Watching your _comrade _being _tortured _like that…"

"YOU DAMNED BITCH!" Despite his throat, the redhead shouted with all his might. "I WILL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" But his effort was a waste. The black-clad demon slammed her foot on his back, effectively smashing what left of his ribs and spine. "AHHHHHH!"

"Aren't you also monster? Trying to kidnap a defenseless girl just to gain control of her sibling… Very honored of you, Sir William."

"You knew…" The look on his face was priceless.

"Yes, I knew… So… Can you just shut your fucking mouth up and die?"

"You-!"

His words were left unfinished.

A soft 'thud' echoed and on the ground, in a mix of rocks and blood, was the sight of William's dismembered head, laying like a lonely and sad piece of flesh.

Zero stared and stared and stared.

It was always like this. After the rush and excitement adrenaline brought out, there was only the emptiness remained inside her. Everything kept zooming in and out, and she could do nothing but stand there paralyzed. These rare moments were the times Zero could get access to whatever-left of her sanity without considering herself a ghoul. It made her wonder if the human side still existed or if it had been destroyed along with her hope the day Yamori and Kamishiro Rize decided to break 'Louise' apart.

Yet, it seemed so different. Zero touched her chest, feeling the beating of the organ behind the skin and flesh. It was… it was… painful?

The head was still there, in front of her vision. However, all she could see was… that Manjusaka flower field, the one in her dream, without Rize and that twisted version of herself. It looked beautiful… and she felt… felt…

Something fell from the corners of her eyes and they kept falling… and falling… They trailed along her cheeks, touching drops of blood and pulling those red-colored dots with them to the earth beneath. Stunned, Zero raised a blood-stained hand to her face and reached for that thing. They… they…

_Tears?_

They were tears?

_I am… crying?_

The pain was so heart-wrenching but Zero didn't bring herself to care. She stared blankly at the wet smear of blood and tears on her fingers, her mismatched eyes widened with surprise and astonishment.

_Why?_

_Why am I crying…?_

Her whole body acted unconsciously, launching at the messy corpse. Hands caught the first part they could find, lips opened and teeth, once again, bit the meat, tearing, cutting… Zero kept stuffing more and more flesh into her mouth, hoping the taste of delicious meal could ease whatever was screwing inside. But no… the tears just went on falling and falling… to the point Zero wanted to claw her eyes to make it stop.

_Pathetic._

_Useless._

_Scum of life._

_I haven't felt them for god-knows-when…_

Sick.

She felt so sick.

So... sick that it brought back memories.

That brown-haired man wasn't the first human she had stole the life. It was...

_What am I trying to deny?_

_Like the darkest and deepest nightmare, blank, soulless eyes hold nothing at all. The grip on reality had slipped, and crashed down, exploding in million pieces of glass. She could keep staring for ages, forcing herself to believe in her own hallucination and forgetting the burden on her shoulders, telling that everything was alright. Yet, a small part of the real world lingered and the mess of blood and flesh before her was like a powerful punch to the stomach._

_It was her first time._

_Silently, she knelt, her fingers reached out. Trembling, they moved away the messy bangs in utmost gentleness. A woman. A beautiful woman with pretty brown hair and eyes. The stranger who had helped her to stand up, who asked her if she felt fine, who looked so worried about the health of a suspicious person. _

_Nothing but a mess. Dead. Lifeless. Unmoving. _

_The woman laid there, eyes opened. The pure horror and hatred still remained in them so clearly. Blood kept spreading over the cement ground. _

_It was her first time._

_Her mouth suddenly tasted like a bad mix of horrible things. There wasn't any sweetness left at all._

_It was her first time. _

_Her nose picked up the smell again. _

_It was her first time…_

_Her stomach turned. And she ended up collapsing on the woman's tattered body, face buried in the red-stained shirt._

_The feeling of disgust began to fill all her senses. Something was rising up… She tried to hold back._

_**It was her first time… of killing.**_

_The surge was too much too handle and it all came out in a burning, painful sensation._

_Then it rained. _

_And in the very end, all she could do was laughing… and crying._

* * *

Mother and Big Sister Mathilda always said that she was a sensitive child. Tiffania herself didn't even try to deny it. In fact, she was so sensitive that even a small change couldn't escape her eyes.

It was Zero. Something had happened to her. And Tiffania could barely stand the haunted look on that face and the presence of its owner.

At first, she ignored it to respect the girl's privacy. After all, they did have an unwritten rule of not looking into each other's secrets. Zero wouldn't ask about why Tiffania kept wearing a hat in the house, and the blonde, of course, didn't question about the constant absence of the white-haired guardian on the dinner table or how she never seemed to eat anything.

However, days ago, the half-elf woke up and headed to the well for some water, only to find her so-called familiar standing there, soaking from head to toes. Zero didn't care if she could catch a cold in that condition, she just went on pouring the water over her body in a rather careless way. When she got closer, there was a familiar but weird scent in the air. Soon, her eyes widened slightly, wavering in a storm of unbelief and recognition. Somehow the girl managed to stay from making a scream by clenching her teeth and hands tightly.

In a blink, she made eye-contact with the other girl. At that moment, it was getting hard for her to breathe.

The eyes were the window of the souls, they said. Yet, as they stared, Tiffania was being drowned by a sea of cold rage and pure hatred. Her body couldn't help shivering in fear at the sight, it reminded her of that fateful day, of the same ugly emotions people had on their faces just like Zero… No… Zero's were… deeper… more uncontrollable… like a wild demon crashing continuously against its cage. They destroyed the pink of those blood-shot orbs, changing it into something cruel. The left one looked as if its color was being engulfed, getting replaced by… re-…

In an instant, Zero jerked back, turning her head away. Tiffania also took a step back, panting.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes. The white-haired girl eventually began to walk away, but not before she murmured something lowly to Tiffania.

"Zero-…"

"I'm sorry."

The blonde never faltered her gaze on that figure until it completely faded. A sigh escaped her lips as she raised her hands up. They didn't stop shaking even after Zero's disappearance.

Tiffania frowned sadly, touching her mother's precious ring on her finger. Zero had been avoiding her ever since then. The blonde had the feeling Zero knew she had discovered a certain thing that morning.

Yes… that scent… it was…

_Blood… Human's blood…_

Tiffania wouldn't say that she hadn't been scared at all. But the more they kept locking eyes, the clearer she could see. Somehow, they were too alike. The anger of that morning, she had once felt the same. And she knew perfectly what remained after it. Emptiness, loneliness and the urge to crease your own existence. It was like everything didn't matter anymore, the universe had already disappeared in that bottomless lair of self-hatred.

Clouded blue orbs wandered aimlessly, until they landed on a certain person outside.

Zero.

The white-haired girl was leaning against a tree. From the blonde's distance, Zero looked like a beautiful princess, who was cursed to sleep for eternity, and only the prince could wake her up from the embrace of dream land. The imagination of a damsel-in-distress Zero made the half-elf giggle quietly for a moment. It lasted shortly. Because Tiffania understood, the one who had cursed Zero was herself. Not even the mightiest heroes could save a person from their self-made death. It was only a matter of time until their world ended.

She didn't want to see another person get pulled down like that. It would be too cruel… too cruel and merciless to her white-haired guardian.

"I… I have to do… something… Mother… I can't… I just can't…"

It was spring time… yet she was so cold.

* * *

"Why do you never have meals with us, Big Sister Zero?"

The girl in question stared blankly at the children standing before her. The little girl, Marie, was looking at her with a pout while the boy, James, was tugging his sister's sleeve in embarrassment.

"…"

"You're always absent. Do you not like us?"

"…"

"Marie…" James' timid voice echoed, trying to stop the girl from questioning again. Much to his surprise, Zero decided to answer.

"I… don't need to eat much."

"You mean you don't like to eat?" Marie frowned in confusion.

"No… It's more like… a special diet…"

"Are you sick? I read from a book that people would get a special diet when they are too weak to have normal food." The boy stated worriedly.

"Oh no!"

Zero almost raised an eyebrow at the way these children looked like they wanted to cry at any moment. However, she felt warm inside, noticing their true concern about her health. Crouching down, the white-haired girl patted both kids' heads, her expression had softened and a glimmer of care in her pink orbs made the two blush at the same time.

"I don't have any disease, don't worry."

"O-Okay…" James and Marie stuttered, both nuzzled into those palms.

"Alright." She glanced at the sky, finally realizing that it was getting dark.

"Awww… We have to go home now or Sister Tiffa will be worried." The little girl pouted, holding the boy's hand once again. Then, she turned to Zero, flashing the older girl a cheeky grin before gripping said person's hand to lead her "Let's go, Big Sister Zero!"

"… Sure…"

When they got back, the food was on the table yet Tiffania was nowhere to be seen. Zero frowned as the smell reached her nose, and it was awful (like rotten eggs and trashes). She wanted to puke so badly, it took nearly all her will not to break the window and throw away all those 'delicious'-looking dishes.

"Where is Sister Tiffa?"

"You guys can have dinner first… I will look for her." Stated Zero, already fast-walking from the place.

The natural scent of the forest covered up that bad smell as soon as she was out of the cottage.

Finally, she found Tiffania sleeping at the root of a rather big tree behind their place. Her usual hat was missing so her elf-like ears was visible to see, somehow, Zero really wanted to touch those. The setting sun's light shined on her silky hair, it made the blonde become more beautiful and gentler. However, the girl wasn't having a pleasant dream. She was sweating and shivering, all while muttering something under her breath.

"No… Please don't…"

Narrowing, the white-haired half-ghoul took off her jacket and covered the girl with it. As if sensing the warmth, Tiffania clutched to it tightly, hugging both her body and the jacket in the process. Zero let out a small sigh upon witnessing the scene, tucking a loose strand of that pretty gold hair behind the pointed ear.

That morning, she knew Tiffania had seen the truth in her eyes. The girl had frozen in fear, and Zero felt so _dirty_, so _tainted_ when she caught those blue orbs. It was like if she moved closer or if her bloodied fingers ever touched her, this angelic being would surely be yanked into that dark void and forever blemished. The hatred boiled like an active volcano, burning everything to ashes. Zero just wanted to tear apart her own body at that time. However, in the midst of that fear, Tiffania showed something else… Sympathy… So much sympathy that it felt so painful.

So much that she just couldn't stand it and ran away like a coward.

Thinking of that again, Zero only sneered sarcastically. Those foul words were the perfect description of the white-haired ghoul. How true they were about her despise whatever she always used to hide that fact away. Zero knew she was unstable, both emotionally and physically. In some cases, she even thought she had some kind of mental disorder. She would interact with her friends, smiling and laughing freely. The next moment, she just punched anyone who dared to approach her while sulking about how unfair life was. Her human part and ghoul part were in a conflicted battle against each other. The former told her to maintain her sanity, to be a normal person while the latter made her turn into a blood-thirsty, aggressive and flesh-craving monster. She had always stated in her mind that she was undeniably a ghoul and tried to accept it whole-heartedly. But life was an ironic circle. In the end, all would vanish and she would stay in grief, mourning for her loss of pride and human's rights. The way she behaved like nothing had happened and built a solid mask of indifference was just a desperate option to stuff her anger, hatred and pain inside. She didn't need anyone to know, in a world that the stronger ones held the power, one weak moment could break her easily and she couldn't afford being vulnerable like that. Yet, she felt so filthy and vile in her deformed state.

It took her a very long time with the help of her friends and self-control to become this calm. She had long forgotten those hellish memories, successful in suppressing her trains of emotional thoughts. Somehow, it felt like she had wasted all her hard work when she was summoned to Halkeginia.

She could have slaughtered Tiffania and committed suicide at once. The funny part was how she just went from nearly snapping to a scared coward in a few minutes. Apparently, it related to what was happening to her these days. For Heaven's sake, it was so stupidly pathetic.

Re-opening her eyes, Zero decided it was enough, spending any more time here would only further her confusion. But before she could even stand up, fingers caught her wrist, pulling her back. Turning around, Tiffania was looking at her, fully awaken.

"Zero…"

"…"

"I…"

"It's dinner time, Tiffania-san." With that, she tried to walk away. Still, the blonde kept the grip, using both her hands.

"Please…!"

"…" Zero was all blank, but she didn't try to move again. Her focus was totally on her master.

"I know why you poured water on yourself that morning, Zero."

"… You know and you're still facing me right now…?" Those pink orbs hardened and darkened. It was going on again.

Yes, they were absolutely talking about the smell of blood on Zero that day, with both of them stared into each other once more time. Tiffania slightly faltered under that harsh glare; however, she braved herself and answered it with her own determined stare.

"You hate it, Tiffania-san." Zero growled. Why the fuck did this person have to be so damn persistent!? She would rather fight both Touka-san and Nishiki than have an endless argument with the girl.

"Yes… I hate it, Zero…" The blonde didn't even try to hide anything at all "I hate it but… I…" Blue eyes watered.

"You're forcing yourself." Said Zero "Stay away from me, if you don't want to get hurt."

"No." The blonde shook her head as a hint of disapproval "I won't."

Gritting her teeth, Zero looked away "You don't understand, do you? I'm a hazard to your health." God, she was starting to talk like a spoiled brat.

"Are you?"

"Such a fool you are, Tiffania Westwood." She couldn't finish her words when the blonde suddenly brought her hand up and put it on the left side of her chest. By some ridiculous reasons, the taller girl could only watch as the shorter one did the action.

"It's hurt, isn't it?" Asked the blonde, feeling the strong beatings of her guardian's heart. "You're in pain, Zero."

"You… Tiffania-san… You don't know anything at all…"

"No, I don't." Her voice sounded so impossibly broken and sincere.

The half-ghoul didn't know what to do aside staring at her master. Her hands fell limply at the sides, all emotions seemed to leave her face as her master stood there, tears already falling quietly.

"You know… I was once like you…" Tiffania chuckled sadly, her other hand reached to touch her ear "I'm the child of a human and an elf. My parents had fallen in love with each other, despite the deep hatred between the two kinds. To both parties, I'm an abomination. I honestly didn't and still don't blame them, Zero."

"People fear what they have no knowledge of…" The words left Zero's lips unconsciously.

"Indeed. Yet… The first time I ever hated people so much was when they attacked my mother and me. And it… it was a nightmare." Her eyes glimmered with sorrow "The villagers threw their rage-filled shouts and glares at us without caring that we just wanted to live in peace… They could have judged me alone, but no, they accused my mother, the woman who had done nothing wrong in spite of her heritage as an elf, of spreading the bad luck and diseases to destroy the village. I knew they were wary of us, but this… was injustice." Tiffania spoke in daze, as if she was reminiscing the past again. Zero noticed how her eyebrows narrowed in a rather unfamiliar expression, empty.

"Stop, Tiffania-san…"

"I was so furious… to the point I wanted to _hurt _all the villagers. But… the more I hated, the more I lost myself in that hollow void. In the aftermath, I felt like my world had shattered completely… I wanted to die. But there were my sister, James and Marie, they refused to let me become such a mess. They pulled me back, Zero."

"… What are you trying to prove?"

"What I'm trying to say… is that I understand how you feel. I might be naïve and scared, but I had experienced grief, too. We might have gotten hurt differently and our pains might not be alike, yet I know the feelings of going through that emotional chaos like you." Tiffania looked up, and teary blue met astonished pink. "It was terrible and I don't want you to be fallen down that dark hole."

Tiffania smiled gently.

"I don't hate you, Zero."

To say Zero was paralyzed by the turn of events was an understatement. Here she was, all smiling and tearing, without a single sign of fear in her beautiful orbs. The girl even exposed her secret of being a half-elf just to calm Zero down, that she didn't hate the white-haired ghoul at all.

_My freaking Anteiku, how can such a kind creature like you exist in this god-damned world?_

The intense sentiments made Zero widen her eyes. And all the control seemed to be lost in god-knew-where, her left one returned to its truest form, the ugly black sclera and an abnormal blood red iris.

Slightly surprised by the change; however, Tiffania continued to smile as she reached out to caress the area near her kakugan.

"It's frightening, isn't it?"

"It's fine." Zero was sure if one of CCG investigators ever heard of this, he/she would stare at the blonde in horror.

"You trust me too much."

"I don't know what happened that day. But Zero is a very kind person herself."

"I'm very dangerous."

"You are denying a part of yourself. You're good, if not, you would tear me apart right now." The blonde giggled while her familiar almost frowned at the last part "Whatever you did, I believe you did it to protect. No true villains would get bothered by their bad actions, Zero. You're my _guardian_, I believe in you." No, she wouldn't use 'Familiar', that word could never describe the black-clad girl truthfully.

"Tiffania…" Neither of them noticed how Zero had dropped the honorific, they were too busy… eyeing each other.

It was weird… so weird…

"_You're my guardian, I believe in you." _

Those words she had said… Zero suddenly remembered all the people who had laid their trust on her.

"_Is it wrong to believe in my dear friend?" _

"Goddess…"

The familiar sighed as her master's smile widened. Those fingers moved lower to stroke her cheek. "Let's begin again, shall we?"

"…"

"My name is Tiffania Westwood, and I… am your summoner."

"… Hello… You can call me Zero and I…" Tiffania's palm… it was so warm…

For the first time after her escape, Zero's lips curled into a small, almost invisible… yet warm smile. A part of her was still in pain and denial… However, at this moment, she would simply let it go and smile… for once more time.

"I am your guardian."

Little did she know, her expression did have an impact on the shorter girl. Something was stirring in her stomach, and it felt alien, strange. A crimson blush soon covered all her face as she stood there, staring at Zero's smile.

"Let's be friends."

Under the twilight, something was beginning.


	5. Chapter 4: Confrontation

**A/N: **Guys, sorry for this late update T.T As you have known about my accident back then, and I got stuck in many aspects of studying. I failed an exam and had to retake the course again in the summer *Sigh* I had, actually, finished this chapter back in November but my exams made my schedule full. I'm only done with all those things after 12/12 T.T To be honest, I'm not satisfied with the outcome of this chapter at all. It feels rushed, short, and totally lacking something. I guess I'll rewrite this one and other chapters one day to make this fic better.

Everyone, if you have any ideas about this fic, you can tell me. I feel like I'm stuck in some place, especially the Tristain academy. Tiffania and Louise are bound to leave the cottage, there are many possibilities but it's undecided :(

**To everyone who had R&amp;R this little fic: **Thank you so much, I very appreciate this you guys love and still follow despite the slow update and all the errors.

**To Leez: **Ah, thank you, Leez. It's wonderful to read your review. About Louise, I build her to be a big contrast to canon's. I agree with Edelhart about the whole 'boble attitude' thing. But I think there's also another reason. In FoZ, Louise fights and kills without any thought due to the fact she thinks she did it for the sake of her country. Heck, she's too eager for such thing, to serve the crown is something she considers to be right, and as you would say, she's loyal to a fault. In fact, Louise and her friends are painted as the heroes of the anime, the others are either back-ground characters to be killed off or the _totally _evil antagonists. I mean, thousands of people lost their lives and loved ones, but all the 'good' guys are unfazed and unaffected, seriously. It's my opinion, anyway ^^.

**To Edelhart: **Ah, you made me blush you know, with all those praises *grin* Thank you, I will continue to write better knowing that someone like you keep reading and following this fic, in spite of all my mistakes ^^

**To WarriorServent: **I'll consider your request, it does sound interesting after all ^^ And seriously, she used to live with Saito, what did you expect, muahhahah. But Louise isn't interested in such things LOL.

**To AkashiSeijuro-IA-4:** Yes, but William used magic in the fight and Rinkaku type's cells are easier to break than other types'. So serious-enough damage can harm Rinkaku ghouls too.

**To Snickering Fox:** We're not even into the main arc LOL. The romance is a faraway thing, right now they're... well, allies. But I hope I can write something convincing enough for you to enjoy *Thumb up*

**To devilsama666:** Yes, 'the shorter girl' is Tiffania. She's, according to FoZ wiki, 5'3''.

**To I am the Bird of Hermes:** Louise's ghoul name is Eyepatch, Zero is self-proclaimed name =))))

**To Guest:** You do know we haven't reached the main arc of the story yet, right? Hell, Louise hasn't even met anyone in her past and Tiffa is completely hopeless when it comes to magic, she doesn't know what the ritual did to Louise nor Louise knows what is going on with all the emotions I put her through *sigh* Everything in this fic happened for a reason, so if you don't like it, you can read another one better than mine. But I do hope you would stay back and wait for the events to unfold, because all your answers lie within the later chapters.

**To ahsoei: **she will, but tbh, she won't be that 'fucked-up' as Kaneki. In some aspects, Louise is tougher than Kaneki.

**To ferry no fune:** Thank you, and btw, your English is fine :) Prequel? I have thought of writing some side chapters about Louise's life in Tokyo, but I'm afraid my busy schedule will delay the writing process.

**To everyone who wants a prequel: **As I had mentioned before, I might be too busy to write anything. But I'll try hard to bring more to you guys. And there is some good news, **Arawn D. Draven **pm-ed me about wanting to write a one-shot for Halkeginia Ghoul back in June. Many of you might have read his stories already, he has a wonderful writing style. I've just answered him (due to the lack of logging in) so you guys can count on him to produce a qualified one-shot *thumb up*

**AND NOW, ENJOY MINA-SAN! Feel free to point out my mistakes! **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or FoZ, they belong to their respective creators.

* * *

**Tristain**

To Henrietta, the palace had always been so large and vast. At this very moment, it just seemed like the whole façade of this happy place had disappeared, being replaced by the uneasy tension that had been surrounding the majestic castle ever since that day.

Honestly, the princess didn't know if she wanted to punish or to thank the mysterious traitor, who had somehow broken into her room and stolen her letters for Wales.

Indeed, they could cause a disastrous war if the words on those papers ever revealed. Yet, there was a hope for this.

By the blessing of Founder Brimir, the letters contained no more than just some normal exchanging between Wales and her. The traitor had wasted his effort in vain.

However, she would be too arrogant to not thinking of his pulling another attempt to snatch other things. And this time, it wouldn't be her room he got into. It would be Wales'.

"Your highness." Agnes opened the door and greeted her. "Viscount Wardes and Lady Valliere have arrived."

"Tell them to come in."

Henrietta wouldn't let such a war happen. No, she would stop it at any cost, even if…

"Your highness." The Viscount bowed to her while the woman lightly lifted her dress and did a small curtsy.

"Good morning, Viscount Wardes…" The princess nodded.

Guilt was eating at her heart the moment she turned to the woman, a tall woman who possessed long gold hair and under her glasses was a pair of bright pink eyes that resembled her best friend greatly.

_Goodness..._

"Lady Eleonore of the Valliere Household."

Of course, Henrietta would prevent the war… even if… it meant sending Louise Francoise's sister on… **a suicide mission**.

* * *

**Halkeginia Ghoul**

**Chapter 4**

**Confrontation**

* * *

"Thank you for doing the laundry, Zero."

Zero nodded in response to the blonde's smile before continuing with her work. Her fingers moved to scrub a piece of children shirt clean against a wooden washboard, the water was pretty cold but the white-haired girl seemed unfazed as she repeated the action again and again.

It had been three days since the day they confronted. To be honest, Zero didn't know what the relationship between the two of them was. When Tiffania told her that she wanted to be her friend, Zero had been surprised. Back on Earth, she wouldn't say the people were that friendly. The human's rights and moral principles might have been an amazing 'highlight' at first, but life was a mixing color of white and black, together they created what Saito had funnily dubbed as 'the grey zone'. Some people were too busy with many aspects of daily days that they hardly could spare time to observe other things. Cultural differences aside, she was too socially awkward to speak with the others, and even if she did, the talk would soon become a weird conversation. Saito stated that because she had been raised in a 'snobbish nobles' environment and of course, adopted the same haughty aura and the way she used such aristocratic words. Zero, however, knew the truth was far from those statements.

In reality she was a quiet, curious girl who would prefer reading to spending times at those boring balls. Yet, it was the name, the title forced her to abandon who she really was and began a chain of days living with noble pride and the rule of steel.

Zero could remember clearly her first day, she had been crying and shouting random things like a mad person. The feelings of lost and despair spread, leaving her exhausted both emotionally and physically. Even with her broken pride, she still saw the looks the by-passers throw at her, full of pity and wariness. They must have thought she was a cosplayer who ran away from home or worse, a ghoul in disguise. Who could blame them to think like that? After all, she did look like a pitiful sobbing mess.

It was Saito with his silly smile who offered her a hand. He was the first person ever to offer to be her friend, one that wasn't based on greediness and personal gain. Despite all his faults and idiocy, Zero appreciated their friendship very much.

And following that 'incident', she mostly befriended the people of Anteiku with… well, her fists (punching Touka, making deals with Yoshimura-san, stabbing that jerk Nishiki and most of all, giving sucker punches, kicks and a whole lot of kagune tentacles to Tsukiyama's sorry face). Tiffania was like Hinami, timid and all scared. But… their words were sincere. It made Zero comfortable enough not to act like a freaking manic with a tendency to crush strangers' skulls (which she always wanted to do to Arima).

Tiffania was not her friend. The blonde was more of… an ally. Indeed, an ally who the half-ghoul would be willing to protect, not by the forced titles of 'Master' and 'Familiar', but the mutual understanding. They would often sit back and talk – well, more like Tiffania talked and she listened, offering a couple of her own answers – it was fine, to both of their standards.

"Big Sister Zero!"

Zero looked up, only to see Marie waving her tiny hand and pulling a blushing James to her place.

"Big Sister Zero!" The little girl then let go of her brother "Would you read us another story after your work?"

The black-clad girl turned to James, he was scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

Oh right, this was the part that made the relationship between her and Tiffania weird.

Zero wasn't the same noble girl she had been. She had learnt to adapt, to live from her friends and it irked her to sit around like a lazy freeloader. So she took the responsibility to share the house chores with Tiffania, of course with the exception of cooking (She could stand the smells better now but meh…).

Sometimes, it was her who took care of Marie and James, reading books for them. Those two adored her as much as they did Tiffania.

The way she and the half-elf did things together, it was as though they were… co-parents? Gosh, the thought of their being all domestic alone was so strange and… embarrassing.

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Marie smiled happily before she pushed James slightly. "Come on, James."

"A-Alright." The boy stepped closer "Um… Big Sister Zero…" Said person tilted her head to the side. "This is for you."

Zero stared blankly at the bracelet in those palms of James. It was pretty simple, made of cheap materials. The little kid was shaking when the oldest girl still remained on her spot unblinking at all.

"Big-Big Sister Zero…?"

"… Thank you, James…"

James grinned brightly as Zero's hand reached out to take the bracelet from him. Pale fingers traced the thin line, treating it like a fragile thing. Her lips curled lightly at the children, giving them pats on the head before they ran off laughing.

She heard Tiffania's giggle but ignored it anyway.

**Minutes later**

The clothes had been washed, hanging neatly under the sun. Zero was leaning her back against a tree outside, silently reading something on her phone, the solar charger lying a little away from her in the sunlight.

Tiffania had gone back to the cottage to prepare lunch for the kids and herself, leaving Zero alone. She didn't mind anyway, at least she didn't have to stay inside a place filled with… _awful _smell.

Thinking back again, Zero found the life with the Westwood family was… nice to say. Minus the whole thing with the knights and the angry villagers, the place was peaceful. Some people would have disagreed, saying that this life was too quiet and lacking the thrill and fun. However, to Zero, she liked it a lot. No more battles for living, the sadness, the pains or the constant dangers lurking around. It was… just her and the green color of the beautiful Fairy forest.

It must have been her misfortune, because about 1 hour later, her sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of footsteps.

Frowning, Zero gently shoved her phone into the bag and got up. Glancing at the direction of the incoming intruder, she quickly hid herself behind a large tree and waited patiently.

It took a few minutes for the newcomer to appear in her vision. It was a vague figure, cladding in a green cloak and hood covered the upper part of their face. By the look of the wand in their hand, they were a wizard.

_A sneaky one at that. _She couldn't help but notice the way they moved. It was a set of calculating steps, too familiar with the structure of the forest's dirt road.

_They send someone who actually knows the place, I'm in disadvantage. _

At this time, the definition of Tiffania in the white-haired ghoul's head had been added with a new term: Trouble Magnet. Just within a few days after her summon, Tiffania had gained herself two magic knights and a professional assassin wizard as stalkers/kidnappers. That… was some luck.

But to be honest, it wasn't her fault that her sibling was an infamous thief, who also worked for some Viscount dude and the Reconquista. Zero had to admit the method they sought to control Fouquet was right… in the sense of politics and war, she would do the same thing too without any hesitation.

Zero was waiting for the wizard to make a move. Yet, they seemed to content with the thought of banging right into the cottage and made a grand appearance.

_What an egoistical fool._

If they wouldn't act, she would.

Trying her best to be silent, she trailed after the mage, using the surrounding as a mean to cover her existence. It was quite funny as she wasn't very good at playing 'Assassin Creed' in real life (plz, ghouls fight face to face okay, unless you're a freaking ukaku-typed one who can shoot projectiles like a machine gun or… a cheeky cheater with a thing for backstabbing). Ambush and surprised attacks were pretty much her elements. She managed to nail the whole sneaky thing, mostly due to her instincts and the distance between them.

What she didn't expect in the outcome was Tiffania suddenly stepping outside or how the delight was shown too clearly in her eyes and, especially, her hugging the newcomer, calling 'Big Sister Matilda' over and over again.

_What the hell is this kind of plot twists? That's... Fouquet?_

* * *

"Big Sister Matilda!"

Matilda felt the arms around her tightened greatly and the guilt just came back in full force. She was so glad, so glad that Tiffania was still alive and well; if not, she knew she wouldn't forgive herself at all.

It was an astonishment when the well-beloved Viscount Wardes came to her for a rather interesting proposal. Seriously, what kind of benevolent knights would seek a thief to help them? At first glance, Matilda recognized the signs of something dirty were up. Shady thoughts aside, the thing he wanted her to do was really a ticket to execution if she ever failed.

He wanted her to steal from the royals, or particularly, the princess.

He told her that Princess Henrietta and Prince Wales of Albion were having an affair. Her job was to find the evidences of the relationship.

Matilda had been scandalized, both from the news and the way the Viscount acted so casually despite the whole situation could bring destruction to Tristain.

When she asked him why, he had laughed… _hard. _

"_Peasants like you are so naïve, Fouquet."_

And he started to explain how Tristain slowly became a shadow of its former self, with its useless army and royalty, to the point it had to depend on Germania for protection. So why did he need to waste his life for such a failure?

He said he was working for Reconquista for the quest of bringing down Albion and when it had been done, they would invade Tristain and wiped out the royal family. He told her that by combining Tristain and Albion, they would create a strong and vast empire and that he was doing it for the _greater _good.

Matilda could only think of how mad and insane this guy was. Of course he couldn't see the greed on his own face when he declared he would lead them to a new future.

Such things… she wouldn't do it. However, he offered her a big fortune and she… she just couldn't stop herself from imagining the happy smiles of her family when they got to treat themselves a big and tasty meals with all the fresh ingredients.

Matilda accepted his proposal, ignoring the horror her actions would do to other people's lives.

The mission was a success. Yet, Viscount Wardes wasn't satisfied with the result, stating the letters were just a bunch of trashes.

He ordered her to find Prince Wales' location and steal from him instead.

The green-haired woman had been scared. Ironically, she was also _very _glad she got those letters instead some big secrets that could leave Tristain in ruin.

Wardes soon realized this. So he sent soldiers to capture her family and planned to use them as a reign to keep her in check.

Matilda was terrified. Breaking the promise to Tiffania's mother to protect the blonde and losing the people she loved were a fate worse than death to Matilda. Not to mention the fact what they would do if they knew Tiffania was an elf, she would be _tortured _to death.

So… she ran away.

When she heard the whispers of the villagers, she had expected something bad. But… Tiffania was here, hugging her.

"Brimir…" The woman sighed in relief.

"You are back!" The blonde, however, didn't mind it. She was too happy.

A small smile crossed Matilda's face as she gently patted Tiffania's back.

"I'm home, Tiffa."

"Welcome home."

Too happy, Matilda didn't notice Zero's slow retreat to the forest. Tiffania, on the other hand, caught a glimpse of her venturing away. A flicker of sadness flashed in her blue eyes.

Zero just looked so lonely.

"Tiffa?"

"Sorry."

"Such an airhead you are." Teased the older woman and Tiffania blushed.

"Big Sister Matilda!"

The lively children of Westwood cottage ran to their sisters, both carried smiles. Matilda let go of Tiffania and crouched down to gather the children with her hands.

"We miss you so much!"

"I miss you too."

The siblings soon led Matilda back to the cottage, chatting happily.

Sipping her tea, the oldest sibling chuckled, listening carefully to her little Marie and James' nonstop talking. The children told her their daily life and how Tiffania had been a wonderful sister tending them, making said girl blush timidly. The conversation followed an uneventful path, until Marie reached the part about the awesome 'Big Sister Zero' who saved Tiffania and her from the bandits.

Matilda glanced at Tiffania briefly, taking notice of how her sister had smiled at the mention of this person.

"Big Sister Zero is living with us in the cottage now!"

She choked on her drink.

"What?" She turned to the blonde completely, an incredulous look decorated her features. "Tiffa!?"

The half-elf swallowed hard, avoiding her sister's gaze like a little kid who was caught doing something wrong.

"You let her stay!? Are you out of your mind? She can hurt you, Tiffa!" Matilda suddenly thought of the guys Viscount Wardes had ordered to go after her sister.

"But she didn't." The words came out easier than Tiffania had thought. Even Matilda raised an eyebrow at how calm she remained.

"Tiffa?"

"Zero… she won't hurt me." Said the younger girl; remembering the clear, unwavering light in Zero's eyes when the truth was revealed and how she didn't fear or disgust at the sight of an elf standing before her.

"Urhhh…" Groaned the infamous Fouquet. "How are you so sure about her?" Her own eyes bore into Tiffania's ones. "For all I know, this so-called Zero can be a psychopath that possesses a tendency to stab people from the behind." (Somewhere else, a certain half-ghoul and many other _people _sneezed.)

"…"

"Well?"

**_The white of those curly tresses reflected the sparkling particles in the air. Those contrasting eyes seemed to soften, the haunting edge was fading. There, stood an ethereal beauty, shining in the warmest smile ever. _**

The half-elf shook her head in disagreement.

The children stared at their older sisters with confusion. Surprisingly, James was the one who broke the silence.

"Big Sister Zero read us stories."

"James?"

"She plays with us when Big Sister Tiffa is busy making meals!" Exclaimed Marie.

"She chops the woods."

"She does the laundry!"

And they began a contest to see who could remember what Zero had done for them. Meanwhile, both the older sisters were stunned. Matilda couldn't comprehend the fondness they gave a person who they just met for a few days and Tiffania stared in wonder of the way Zero had placed her presence into their normal life.

"Matilda."

"Yes?"

"I…" She asked herself whether to tell the truth about Zero or not. Then something crossed her mind then she banished the idea of spilling out. It was their secret and she felt the need to ask for permission before saying it out loud. After all, partnership was built on trust.

"Tiffa?"

"It's nothing, I just remembered I only prepared lunch for three."

The other woman stared at her quietly, something was amiss in the midst of words. Then again, Tiffania was a good judge of character. However, she did hope that her little sis hadn't done anything to reveal her nature as a half-elf.

_Unfortunately,_ she already did…

**Zero **

The day passed quickly to Zero. She had continued her reading when she got back to her spot under the tree's shade once again. The kids probably forgot about the promise after the home-coming trip of their oldest sibling, so she spent all her time going through her e-books list.

Her fingers stopped moving as she turned her head to watch 'Matilda' approaching her. The green head was holding a serious expression on her face. Zero could easily catch the well-hidden suspicion under her indifference.

Matilda creased her movement a good distance from her. And Zero stared at her impassively, not seeming to be taken back by her cold frown.

"Greeting, Miss Zero. I'm Matilda de Sachsen-Gotha, Tiffania's sister." She introduced herself, but there was no hand being offered to shake.

They said trouble people always used layers of masks to cover their true feelings, Zero didn't know how much true that notion could be but she believed the person before her was one of them.

Zero remembered her vaguely. There was no doubt she was the secretary of the headmaster of Tristain Magic Academy, her fake name was… Longueville, wasn't it?

_How cunning._

Indeed, who would suspect the commoner assistant of the honorable Old Osmond to be Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt, an infamous thief and a _magic user_?

_And a big, big lie._

It was such a strange turn of events. The woman before her was one people would never be suspicious of hidden agenda, let alone a famous thief who had a thing for stealing expensive, ancient artifacts. She used the image of a strict and hard-working woman to bury who she was. Underneath it, Zero could see a person who wouldn't hesitate to harm if it concerned her loved ones by the murderous glare she was throwing at her or how her fingertips constantly twitched from forcing herself not to take out her wand from where it was hidden.

The half-ghoul then got to a sitting position, looking bored.

They remained unspoken but in fact, both were trying to figure out each other. It was too easy for Zero to see through the green-haired mage. Comparing to Yoshimura or Arima, she was like a book. That or she was just used to picking up the mess of emotions emitting from the ones around her.

The same thing couldn't be applied to Matilda. Everything about the young woman in front of was an enigma. White was a weird hair color even in the colorful world of Halkeginia, the only one she had seen with it was Osmond but it was because of his old age. And her eyes, they were _pink_, truly _pink _(and familiar), adding another question into the pile of mystery.

There were things about Zero had basically told the green-haired woman that the former was a daughter of a rich family, despite her lack of a wand: the materials of her clothes, her milky skin, her uncalloused fingers and even that black box in her hand looked too _shiny _to be in possession of a normal person. Her movements were, if Matilda had to be honest, arrogant and too relaxed, leaving herself opened as though she was unfazed by the older woman's appearance.

_Typical spoiled brat. _

Yet, the shimmering light in those eyes just seemed too… disturbing, despite their untainted shade of color. Even if her sitting on the ground made said girl appear shorter and gave her a height advantage, Matilda still found her presence to be completely… overwhelming. And certainly, there was something in that calm, expressionless demeanor of her, something unnatural.

She was like a living doll, her breathing was the only factor that indicated she was alive.

Zero would have laughed _hard _if she could read Matilda's idea. Because only gods knew, under her 'so-called' arrogance and blank features, how much she ached to create a safe distance between herself and that woman like any other _ghouls _would do to keep their identity.

Indeed, Zero's layers of mask were even thicker than Matilda. When a ghoul wanted to live in peace, they would need to master the act of feigning innocence as they began to delve deeper into the human world. She couldn't remember how many times she had tried to mimic Touka's artificial ignorance and smiles. While her being a former human and her time with Saito before all this mess did help a lot with the acting, she wasn't without faults. Her smiles were too fake, her posture was too stiff because it was hard… to pretend nothing had happened. She felt like even the smallest thing about 'Louise' had to be erased in order to find the path of survival. Sometimes, it would end up with shouting and anger, sometimes it just came out naturally, to the point she could behave like a bashful little waitress before finally releasing her stress. Well, if anything, that awkwardness was still much, much better than this emotionless bottom.

_Or was it?_

Such a question was hard to answer, because it was difficult to remember in this state of memories, as her hold on the pictures and information was another mess. She couldn't even recall the details of her old self, it became too vague and blurry, an image she had lost during the change and when everything had settled down, it disappeared in the midst of the night, leaving cold, faded trails of who once bore the forgotten name.

"Greeting, Lady Sachsen-Gotha. It's an honor to meet you." Polite words indeed. But it sounded too much like a mockery with that flat tone, and she was too concentrated on seeking any wrongness in the white-haired girl to notice that Zero had used the word 'Lady' to refer to a _commoner_.

"You…" Matilda narrowed her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Who are _you_?"

"No one." No more, no less. Just… that.

"Don't act so innocently. Who are you and what's your intention to Tiffania?" _And I'll kill you myself if you're a minion of Wardes. _She kept the last part in her head.

"…" Zero didn't answer though, she continued the blank stare.

Narrowing, the older woman could feel her anger rising at the silent treatment. She might bear the title 'commoner' right now but even in her disguise as the secretary Longueville, people rarely treated her like this.

_How dare she-!?_

"Shouldn't you ask others that question?" Somehow, Zero couldn't hold back the urge to answer with a snarky comment. She didn't like the woman's ridiculously accusing voice, it reminded her of those 'so-called' investigators… too much and she suddenly got in the mood for some sarcastic answers.

"What are you talking about?"

"…."

"What did you mean, Zero?" Matilda dropped all the fake formality and asked in a commanding voice.

The guardian simply tilted her head.

"A few days ago, two knights of the Albion army appeared in this place." If the truth was what Matilda wanted, Zero would give her.

At the words, Matilda's face turned to the sickest shade of green. She gasped, eye widened in pure horror and astonishment.

"Do you know what they said, Lady Sachsen-Gotha?" Pink eyes seemed to swirl, twisting around like a maelstrom, but the speaker went on, carrying nothing but collected indifference "They said 'to ensure one's loyalty is to know and capture their weakness."

"How…?"

"…"

"You knew…" Matilda trembled, fingers tightened their hold on the wand "You knew… who I am… You knew…"

"I've already taken care of them." This time, Zero stood up, face to face with the pale woman "I can assure you one thing, I have no intention to the children or Tiffania-san, even if she's a half-elf herself."

"I-I see…" But she stumbled on her words, as though she was just reminded of something "Wait… you-!"

"…"

"Oh for Brimir's sake, Tiffa had really _revealed_ herself to you."

Somehow, that sentence sounded weird in both their brains. Nonetheless, the younger girl merely nodded, looking absolutely calm.

"And you aren't afraid?" Comparing to being discovered as the infamous Fouquet, Matilda was more concerned about the fact this person had known her sister's secret. One step wrong and Tiffania would have a bunch of Romalian Church's knights after her life. But the woman was intrigued and shocked at how casually Zero talked, not showing a hint of fear or anything alike when she was staying with a half-elf, one of race who were rumored to be magical monsters hell bent on creating humanity's downfall.

Head tilted to the side again, the white-haired ghoul released a question Matilda didn't expect at all.

"Should I?"

The silence once surrounded them, but there was no tension in the air this time, only confusion.

_I don't understand you at all. _That was what the false commoner thought but didn't say out loud.

"If that is all you want from me, you're already given." She looked up at the sky "I'll take my leave."

"…"

And Zero proceeded to retreat to the deep forest again. Behind her, Matilda still stared silently, wondering about the mysterious white-haired guest of her family. Curiosity lit up in her green eyes.

* * *

**Albion, somewhere else.**

Eleonore hadn't seen a person die before. But at this moment, she spent her time watching as knights and commoners alike get slain, blood splattered across the floor, black and nightmarish.

She was trying to save more people, but her triangle-classed walls could hardly hold against the constant assaults in the form of lightning bolts. Behind her, the pira-… no, prince Wales of Albion was clutching to his wand and firing many sloppy water bullets, his other hand was injured.

Gritting her teeth, the young blonde glared at the culprit of this mess, said man was laughing manically while swinging his sword-wand in order to create more bolts.

"You bastard traitor, Wardes!"

"Such foul words, Lady Eleonore."

The hatred in her eyes increased ten-fold at his 'innocent' tone and a flick of wrist later, an earth golem with enormous body rose to meet the Viscount's smirk.

"You will pay for your crimes and treachery!"

"We shall see it, if you ever defeated me."

The man approached the golem, firing his spells to cripple the walking protector. His laughter rang loudly and stood out in the midst of chaos.

"You know, if only our little, _dearest _Louise was here. She would have joined me as my wife and watched her husband bring back the long-lost glory."

It was the final straw, Eleonore saw red.

"How dare you, son of a bitch!" Mother would probably scold her for that curse "Your filthy mouth didn't deserve to call _my _sister's name!"

Another strike and the golem crumpled. Wardes looked at the mad blonde, a 'charming' smirk on his lips.

"Perhaps… You would like to be my bribe, Lady Eleonore?"

"In your dream." She gritted her teeth defiantly.

"How sad…" He sighed "Then, you give me no choice. Really, you should have considered it, for rejection means a painful death, just like those knights."

"Why did you do this?" It wasn't her voice, but prince Wales' instead.

"What's an interesting question you have for me, your highness." The traitor chuckled "The same one this little peasant had asked me once. It's a long story, but… we do have time, don't we? Now, you see, ever since I was a young boy, Tristain had always been in a difficult stand. And by the time I became a knight and a viscount, the royal family had actually sold the land to Germania with that stupid arranged marriage between the princess and that barbarian of an emperor!" His expression darkened.

"Do you know how much disgrace and humiliation the king had brought to Tristain!? Such shameful stain can never be cleared! And those so-called knights are useless scums of life, exist for nothing but being a bunch of dishonored bastards, so weak that they surrender immediately after defeat!" The gray-haired man then stopped to regain his usual composure, he smirked "Why should I risk my life for this kingdom? For all I know, I can be better than a viscount. Then, the leader approached me and proposed a very fancy deal. By destroying Albion, I will have the chance to combine both nations into one. And, can you imagine what would happen if we had such things? Germania and Gallia be damned, as our soldiers would crush them all."

Eleonore opened her mouth in shock. Prince Wales only shook his head, his tired face full of rage "You're insane. You risked thousands of people's lives just to fulfill that mad wish of yours!? You aren't a saint, Wardes, you're just a crazy psychopath, a monster in human's flesh!"

If someone like Zero was here, they would probably laugh at the bicker between two of the gallant men in Halkeginia, what a typical villain vs hero stereotype. This was a battlefield, yet these two just didn't seem to care. Of course, the argument of good and bad was funnier than just standing there. Beside, 'good guys' just liked to lecture their enemies about the 'greater good'. It was just, in the eyes of veterans, moronic. And somehow, Eleonore also thought the same.

While she had a bad temper and a reckless kind of attitudes, Eleonore was still the daughter of Karin herself. She was taught about the arts of war and battles by her parents, and at this moment, the way Wales and Wardes shouted at each other about the morality of life was all but an act of stupidity in her mind, leaving their backs opened like that.

Ignoring them, the blonde gathered her willpower again, hoping to ambush the experienced knight.

Apparently, Wardes was so… confident with his abilities that he didn't take Eleonore as a dangerous foe. And it cost him so much.

Wales didn't realize the sudden turn of event until he was carried away in the arms of a golem. It happened so fast. One moment he and Viscount Wardes were arguing, the next thing he knew, the gray-haired man was sent across the room by a gigantic brown golem. And Lady Valliere grabbed his un-wounded hand, with a small movement, another golem rose to bring them outside.

It was fortunate… so fortunate that she could catch the proud Griffin knight off guard. For all his arrogance and insanity, Wardes was well-known as a veteran in duels, he was completely opposite to her, a 'behind-the-curtains' researcher. Though at the same class, he held a better control over his magic, much to her anger. Needless to say, if the man had had the intention of slaying them, her golems were pretty much useless dolls before his infamous lightning bolts.

"Lady Valliere…" Gasped the prince.

Eleonore only wished that luck would stay at their side this time again. Both Reconquista soldiers and Wardes wouldn't let them escape easily, not when they were so close to murder Prince Wales.

"Hang on, your highness!"

They ventured into the night, being followed by dozen of enemies. On the sky, the twin moons continued to shine, ignoring the event completely.

* * *

The phone's screen stood still as the fingers suddenly stopped moving. Pink eyes stared blankly at the words, unfocused for a moment.

"Hm…?"

Zero averted her eyes to the sky.

"Weird."

Something told her that tonight would be another troublesome night.

* * *

**A/N: You guys know what did mean, right!? **

**Next time, Eleonore finally meets the infamous familar of Tiffania, Zero! Warning, beware of angst!**


End file.
